Eagles Take Two From Saints, Lockup Two-Seed for Postseason

HUNTINGDON, Pa.- The #10 Juniata men's volleyball team swept Marymount twice, 3-0 (28-26, 25-19, 25-19) and 3-0 (25-23, 25-17, 25-18), Saturday afternoon inside Memorial Gymnasium. The two wins mean the Eagles have clinched the two-seed in the Continental Volleyball Conference playoffs.  

The first set of match one was tightly contested throughout, with the Eagles arriving at set point via a Tyler Goldsborough (Reading, Pa. / Exeter Township HS) kill, but the Blue Jays battled back, taking the next three points to grab set point at 24-25. A kill from Duffy saw JC stay alive at 25-25 before a block from Robert Bowling (Columbus, Ohio / Hilliard Darby) and 

Kevin Duffy (Carlisle, Pa. / Carlisle HS) nudged the Eagles ahead, but the Saints answered with a kill to make it 26 all. Will Phelan (Saegertown, Pa. / Saegertown H.S.) notched a kill, and Bowling followed with a set-winning ace to make it 28-26. 

The Saints stormed to a 3-12 lead to start the second, but the Eagles responded with a 12-1 blitz of their own, which saw them go up 15-13. Marymount only scored six more times the rest of the set as Juniata wound up cruising to a 25-19 victory. 

The third set saw the teams stay close most of the way, with Marymount getting within two at 18-16. A kill and an ace from Bowling, a kill from Duffy, and a kill from Reese Ganter (Reading, Pa. / Exeter Township HS) followed by a Saints attack error made it 23-16. Marymount got three points back before a Duffy kill gave JC set point and a block from Goldsborough, and Duffy ended the first match, 25-19.

Goldsborough tallied 11 kills, two aces, seven digs, and two block assists, while Duffy added seven kills while hitting .583 to go with two solo blocks and four block assists.  

The opening set of match two saw the Saints go up 5-7 before a kill from Bowling a kill from Luke Hoffman (Reading, Pa. / Exeter Township HS), an attack error by the Saints, and a kill by Goldsborough made it 9-7. The teams traded a few more times, but the Eagles maintained a narrow edge late. With the score at 21-21, a service error and another Hoffman kill made it 23-21. The teams traded points as Bowling got the Eagles to set point with a kill; the Saints took the next point before Bowling tallied another kill to end set one, 25-23. 

The second set saw the teams traded runs early, with a 4-0 Saints surge making it 12-12. From that point, the Eagles dominated, closing the set on a 13-5 run as they dominated on their way to a 25-17 set two victory on a Duffy kill. 

The third set saw Juniata surge ahead 8-3 early and the Saints again trying to pull even. They got within one at 17-16 but committed three straight attack errors, and they called a timeout. Grant Crytzer (Freeport, Pa. / Freeport) served up an ace following the break, and Bowling put down another kill to push the advantage to six. JC committed a serving error; Goldsborough and Hoffman combined for a block before Goldsborough kill gave JC match point. The Saints got a kill of their own before Bowling ended the second match with a kill, 25-18.  

Bowling tallied 14 kills while hitting .478 with eight digs and three block assists to pace JC in the second match.  

Juniata wraps up the regular season at 12-2, 7-1 in conference play.