Eagles Sail Past Muskies

SPRINGFIELD, OH- The Juniata men's volleyball team swept Lakeland, 3-0 (25-11, 2517, 25-15), Saturday afternoon at Pam Evans Smith Arena to wrap up their opening weekend at Wittenberg College in the 2020 Jim Coleman Invitational. 

The opening set saw Juniata open up a small lead, with a service error cutting into their lead, 10-7. A kill from Michael Young (Westlake Village, Calif. / Westlake Village), a block from David Hibner (Burke, Va. / Lake Braddock Secondary) and Sean Cavanagh (Cranberry Twp., Pa. / Seneca Valley), a kill from Joe Fick (Venetia, Pa. / Peters Township) followed by a block from Hibner and Robert Bowling (Columbus, Ohio / Hilliard Darby), two errors by the Muskies, another Fick kill, and one more Lakeland attack error blew the game open as Juniata's lead ballooned to 11. The Eagles cruised the rest of the way, with a kill from Max Cooley (Bethel Park, Pa. / Bethel Park H.S.) ending set one 25-11. = 

The second set was the closest of the match, with Lakeland hanging close most of the way with a kill pulling them within three, 20-17. But that was their final points of the set as Juniata tallied the final five points with Jordan Orth-Moore's (Annapolis, Md. / International School of Kenya) kill ending it, 25-17. 

The Eagles never trailed in the third set, maintaining a small lead midway through with two straight errors bringing the Muskies within four, 14-10. A kill from Kevin Duffy (Carlisle, Pa. / Carlisle HS), an ace from Will Phelan (Saegertown, Pa. / Saegertown H.S.), a kill from Cooley, another Phelan ace along with a kill from Austin Goodsel (Corry, Pa. / Fort Leboeuf HS) gave Juniata some breathing room. The teams traded points for a while, with Lakeland narrowing the lead to seven off a kill and an attack error at 22-15. A kill from Orth-Moore and a Muskie attack error put JC at match point before a kill from Phelan ended the match. 

Bowling was named to the all-tournament team for his strong play over the weekend. 

The Eagles will return home to take on defending national champion and the current #1 team in the country, SUNY New Paltz, Friday at 7:30.