Eagles Declaw Wildcats To Open 2026 Season
UTICA, NY- The #3 Juniata men's volleyball team kicked off their 2026 campaign with a 3-0 (25-21, 25-23, 25-18) win over SUNY Poly, Saturday evening.
Chris Mellor tallied eight kills and two block assists, while Dante Palombo added eight kills, two aces, three solo blocks, and a block assist. Octavian Sperry had nine kills, six digs, and an ace. Will Sierer contributed 35 assists, four digs, and a block assist.
With the score at 8-8, the Eagles used an 8-3 run that was capped by kills from Sperry and Palombo and a Palombo ace. JC took set one on a service error by the Wildcats.
Juniata trailed 13-18 late in set two before a crucial 6-1 run sparked by two Palombo solo blocks and another we teamed up with Tyler Phillips. Logan Peterson's kill tied things at 19-19. The teams traded points to get to 23-23, Peterson but the Eagles on set point with another kill, and a Wildcat attack error handed JC set two 25-23.
JC had their best hitting percentage in set three, .579, and used a pair of Wildcat errors on the final two points to end the match.
The Eagles have two matches tomorrow, playing Rivier at 11:00 am and Lasell at 1:00.