Number One Knights Down Eagles in CVC Championship
LEXINGTON, Va.- The Juniata men's volleyball team lost 3-0 to Southern Virginia in the Continental Volleyball Conference Championship Game Saturday afternoon on the campus of Washington and Lee.
Tyler Goldsborough had 12 kills, three digs, and a block assist, while Tyler Phillips had nine kills, an ace, seven digs, and a block assist. Reese Ganter contributed 23 assists, an ace, and three digs.
In set one, the Eagles found themselves on the heels of the Knights for most of the match. An error and Goldsborough's kill brought JC within two, 14-16. SVU took the next three to extend their lead to five, and JC couldn't close the game. They eventually dropped set one 18-25.
Southern Virginia controlled set two as their offense peaked with a match-best .538 hitting percentage, and the Eagles couldn't quite keep pace. SVU had three different 4-0 spurts during the set that doomed the Eagles. Juniata's final push in the set came on an error, and two straight Goldsborough kills made it 14-19. SVU closed the set from there on a 6-2 run to take a commanding lead in the match.
Set three saw the team's exchange haymakers, with JC trailing 2-5 and later 4-7 early, but four straight points, including a block by Hoffman Goldsborough, made it 7-8. The Knights slowly took the lead back and, midway through, held a four-point lead 12-16. Two Goldsborough kills, one from Luke Hoffman, and a Knight error put the teams even at 16-16. The teams traded points as another Goldsborough kill tied it again at 17, but it was all SVU from there. They took eight of the next nine points to end the match, 18-25.
Juniata is now 25-6 and will see how the NCAA at-large bids shakeout on Monday.