Men's Volleyball Falls to #4 Messiah in NCAA Quarterfinals

HUNTINGDON, Pa.- The #3 Juniata men's volleyball team had their fantastic season come to an end in the NCAA Quarterfinals as they lost to a strong #4 Messiah University team, 3-0 (23-25, 16-25, 20-25), Saturday evening in front of a raucous crowd inside Memorial Gymnasium. 

The opening set was tight the whole way, as the Falcons held narrow leads, and the Eagles kept clawing back. With the score at 10-14, Luke Hoffman put down a kill and followed with a solo block. A kill from Tyler Goldsborough brought Juniata back within one, 13-14. After Messiah's kill, Goldsborough put the ball through the floor again, and Messiah committed an attack error to tie things at 15. Messiah built their lead back to three twice, the final time at 20-23. Goldsborough and Maxwell Barr tallied kills, but Messiah got the last two points they needed, around a Max Cooley kill, to take set one. 

Set two saw the Falcons hit for their best hitting percentage of the match at .357, and the Eagles hit for their least effective hitting percentage at .103. This led to the Falcons cruising through the second set to win handily, 16-25.

Juniata, looking to extend their season, fought hard, but a late run by the Falcons had the visitors four points from the Final 4, as Messiah University put themselves in control, 11-21. A service error, a kill from Cooley, an attack error by Messiah, a kill by Campbell Gerdeman, and another Messiah mistake had Juniata within five 16-21. The Falcons did their part, earning enough points down the stretch to punch their ticket to the Final Four, as they took set three and the match, 21-25. 

Juniata finishes the year at 30-3. The 30 wins make it a school record for most in a single season, and three losses are the fewest losses in a full year in program history. They also went 11-3 against ranked teams, had the best start to program history with 13 wins to open the year, and later won 15 consecutive games.