Eagles Ace Season-Opener with 3-0 Win Over Hilbert
ROCHESTER, NY- The #12 ranked Juniata men's volleyball team sailed past Hilbert, 3-0 (25-9, 25-13, 25-8), in their opening match of the year on the campus of St. John Fisher.
Juniata hit a blistering .542 in the opening set and blew the set open early. With the score at 4-3, the Eagles went on a 15-1 sprint that gave them complete control of the match, with Kevin Duffy III (Carlisle, Pa. / Carlisle HS) and Max Cooley (Bethel Park, Pa. / Bethel Park HS) adding three kills apiece during the run. Will Phelan (Saegertown, Pa. / Saegertown HS) ended the set with a kill at 25-9.
The second set was similar; with the score at 5-4, the Eagle again took control. Three kills from Phelan, two aces from Campbell Gerdeman (Carlsbad, Calif. / Sage Creek HS), and two errors from the Hawks made it 12-5. The Hawks put together a 5-0 run to make it 19-12, but the Eagles slammed the door shut with a 6-1 run as Wesley Eaton (Chicago, Ill. / Latin School of Chicago HS) ended the set with a kill. Juniata held Hilbert to a -.304 hitting percentage.
JC hit .471 in the final frame as they closed the match with a 25-8 win in set three.
Jalen Denson (Chicago, Ill. / Plainfield Central HS) had five aces on the day while Gerdeman had four.
Juniata will take on Nazareth, who is receiving votes in the national poll, at 8:00 PM tonight.