Eagles Down Saints to Advance to CVC Championship
LEXINGTON, Pa.- The Juniata men's volleyball team defeated Marymount to advance to the Continental Volleyball Conference Championship Game, 3-0 (25-19, 25-16, 25-15) Friday evening.
Set one was tightly contested, with Juniata maintaining a narrow lead, but the Saints remained hot on their heels most of the way. Two straight by Marymount made it 20-18, and the Eagles locked in the rest of the set. A service error and a Tyler Phillips and Luke Hoffman block made it 22-18. MU got their final point of the set on a service error before kills from Phillips, and Mellor gave JC a set point. A Hoffman ace ended set one, 25-19.
The Eagles had their most efficient set offensively in set two, hitting .353 and jumping ahead by seven late 18-11. The Saints managed to get back within one at 21-16, but the Eagles took the final four points to take control of the match, 25-16.
Runs of 4-0 and 6-0 in set three put the Eagles in the driver's seat, along with strong defense as the Saints hit -.100 in the third set. The Eagles maintained a comfortable lead most of the set, with a Phillips kill giving JC match point. Two points later, Gavin Corrado ended things with a kill and sent JC back to the CVC Conference Championship.
Awaiting the Eagles in the championship game is #1 undefeated Southern Virginia. This will be the third time the teams square off for the CVC crown and the seventh overall appearance for the Eagles in the Championship.
Game time is set for 3:00 tomorrow.