Eagles Complete Straight-Set Sweeps of Geneva and Chatham

HUNTINGDON, Pa.- The #11 Juniata men's volleyball team picked up a pair of wins as they swept both Geneva College (25-14, 25-9, 25-16) and Chatham University (25-15, 25-16, 25-7) Saturday afternoon inside Memorial Gymnasium. 

Early in set one against the Golden Tornados, The Eagles used a 5-0 run that featured a kill from Chris Mellor, two Campbell Gerdeman kills, and two Geneva errors. The Eagles maintained a five-point advantage before closing the set on an 8-1 run, as Gerdeman ended set one with a solo block. 

Juniata started set two in dominant fashion, scoring nine straight points to lead 12-3. The Eagle offense was humming all set, and they hit .636 to cruise to a 25-9 win. Chase Robbins had back-to-back kills to end the set. 

JC led by as many as nine in the third set, 15-6, but the Golden Tornados wouldn't go quietly, as they closed within six, 21-15. Kills from Mellor and Jared Johnson put JC within two of ending the match. Geneva took the next point; Mellor tallied another kill, and Johnson ended the match with a big solo block. 

Nathanael Brown had a match-high ten kills (.316) to go with an ace, a dig, and a block assist, Chase Robbins had nine kills (.500), an assist, and five digs, while Campbell Gerdeman tallied seven kills (.636), an assist, an ace, six digs, a solo block, and a block assist. Will Sierer had 28 assists and four digs. 

In the second match against Chatham, the Eagles methodically worked their way ahead, but the Cougars hung around as the JC advantage was just four, 16-12. Juniata took over from there as they closed the set on a 9-3 run as Robbins went off the block for the final point of the set, 25-15. 

The Eagles nursed a narrow lead through most of the second set, as a kill by Brown and an error from Chatham made it 18-13. After a Cougar kill, Brown added another of his own as he crushed a ball off a backrow defender, and Grant Lorelli scored on a dump. The teams traded points to get to 21-16, and the Eagles shut it down from there. A kill by Mellor, a block by Octavian Sperry and Gavin Corrado, and a setting error by the Cougars pushed JC to set point, and Corrado ended the set with a kill from the middle. 

Runs of 8-0 and 10-0 in the third set quickly saw the Eagles in complete control as a Sperry kill had the Eagles at match point in the blink of an eye. Sierer put an ace in the back right corner to end the match 25-7. 

Juniata returns to play next Friday when they begin Continental Volleyball Conference play at Kean Friday at 7:00.