Eagles Advance To Semi-FInals With 3-1 Win Over Nichols

HOBOKEN, N.J. – The Juniata men's volleyball team advanced to the NCAA Division III Tournament semifinals with a 3-1 win over Nichols Saturday evening at The Stevens Institute of Technology. With their 31st win, the Eagles have set a new program record for wins as well as reaching the NCAA Final Four for the second time in program history.  

Tyler Goldsborough (Reading, Pa. / Exeter Township HS) led the Eagles with 14 kills on 21 swings, hitting .619 in the win. Juan Armando (San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic / Liceo Gastón Fernando Deligne) added 13 kills and hit .522, while Chris Mellor (Easton, Pa. / Easton Area HS) notched 10 kills on a .474 clip.

The Eagles came out hot in the opening set, hitting .625 with 17 kills to take a 25-19 win. Juniata jumped out to a 5-0 lead behind a pair of kills from Goldsborough, a kill from Tyler Phillips (Long Island, N.Y. / Walt Whitman HS) and back-to-back aces by Will Sierer (Hummelstown, Pa. / Lower Dauphin HS). Nichols cut the lead to three late in the set, but a kill from Goldsborough closed out the frame.

In the second, Juniata put away 18 kills and hit .457 as a team to win 25-22. The set saw 13 ties, but a kill from Mellor and back-to-back points from Goldsborough and Armando gave the Eagles a 21-18 lead. Nichols closed within one at 22-21, but Mellor delivered the final two kills to secure the win.

Nichols responded in the third set, hitting .385 as a team to claim a 25-21 win. Juniata had 10 kills but committed five attack errors in the frame.

The Eagles bounced back in the fourth, hitting .550 with 14 kills while holding Nichols to just four kills and a .133 hitting percentage. Luke Hoffman (Reading, Pa. / Exeter Township HS) tallied three of his eight kills in the set, and Goldsborough and Armando each added three more to close it out, 25-11.

Sierer dished out 25 assists, served two aces, and collected eight digs. Grant Lorelli (Lancaster, Pa. / Hempfield HS) added 14 assists and two block assists, while Max Finkielstein (West Windsor, N.J. / WWP High School North) served up a pair of aces. Defensively, Mellor had three block assists, and Phillips added one solo and one assist block.

Juniata finished the match hitting .452 as a team with 59 kills, 51 assists, and 21 service aces.

The Eagles advance to face Southern Virginia on April 25th at 7:30 PM in Roanoke, Virginia.