Notes From the Nest: A Weekly Recap of Juniata College Athletics

HUNTINGDON, Pa. – Juniata College athletics continued to set high marks this past week.  Men's volleyball won the Golden Flyer Invitational upsetting No. 2 host Nazareth College and indoor track and field broke records.

Men's Basketball
In an 0-2 week, the Juniata College men's basketball team showed a return to their early season defensive effort, holding The University of Scranton to it's lowest point total of the season. I the Eagles 86-76 loss on Wednesday night to Susquehanna, senior Jeremy Hays (McMechen, W. Va./John Marshall) led the team with 24 points and five assists. Juniata had one of its worst defensive nights against Susquehanna, but bounced back with a very solid showing on the defensive end against Scranton. Saturday's matchup marked the halfway point in the Landmark Conference season with the two teams meeting for the second time this year.

While the offensive output for the Eagles was sorely lacking, the strong defensive play came from seniors Brian Scholly (State College, Pa./State College) and Lucas Mellott (Warfordsburg, Pa./Southern Fulton). The two classmates both pulled down seven rebounds in the game and came away with 11 and seven points respectively. I a mid week announcement, Scholly earned his second consecutive Capital One Academic All-District honor, as voted on by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). The Eagles hit the road for the next week of play before returning home Wednesday, Feb. 12, at 7 p.m. to host Goucher College.

Women's Basketball
Juniata (9-8, 2-4 Landmark) dropped two tough conference battles this week, falling 66-60 on Wednesday at Susquehanna University and 76-52 at home against the University of Scranton on Saturday.  Junior Kelsey Livoti (Altoona, Pa./Bishop Guilfoyle) and sophomore Paige Dennison(East Berlin, Pa./Bermudian Springs) each averaged double-digit points.  Livoti netted her first double-double of the season with a team-high 18 points and game-high 13 rebounds at Susquehanna.  On Thursday, senior Kate McDonald (Pennsylvania Furnace, Pa./State College Area) became the first Juniata women's basketball student-athlete to be  named to the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Capital One Academic All-District Team.  She was one of two Landmark student-athletes recognized.

It was the Eagles annual Pink Game and Alumni Day on Saturday.  Freshman Olivia Halfpenny(McVeytown, Pa./Mifflin County) led with a team-high 12 points against Scranton.  The Eagles went on an 11-0 run to start the second half and pulled within 10 points but couldn't hold off the Lady Royals who shot over 48 percent as a team.  Juniata now prepares to host Catholic University of America this coming Wednesday, Feb. 5 at 7 p.m.

Men's Indoor Track and Field
The Juniata College men's track and field team competed Friday and Saturday at the Bison Open hosted by Bucknell University. Senior Connor Robinson (Asheville, N.C./Asheville) broke the school record in the 500 meter run by finishing tenth overall in a time of 1:10.51. In the 1000 meter run, freshman Reese Marrero (Austin, Texas/Westlake) crossed the finish line in 2:47.97, to place 15^th. Juniata will next compete in Susquehanna University's Crusader Classic this Saturday, Feb. 8.

Women's Indoor Track and Field
The Juniata College women's track and field team continued competition at Bucknell University's Bison Open on Friday and Saturday. Senior Katrina Woods (Shirleysburg, Pa./Mount Union) led the Eagles. She broke her own school and Landmark Conference record in the 3000 meter run. Woods placed fifth overall at the meet, crossing the line in 10:23.06. In the 1000 meter run, junior Alyssia Cousins (Lemont, Pa./State College Area) crossed the line in a career-best time of 3:23.40, good enough for seventh overall. In the field, freshman Katelyn Fisher (Rochester, N.Y./Greece Athena) recorded a personal best height of 1.54m, giving her a sixth place finish. The Eagles will next travel to Susquehanna University this Saturday, Feb. 8 to compete in the Crusader Classic.

Men's Volleyball
No. 3 Juniata (8-1) fell to NCAA Division II opponent the University of Puerto Rico, 3-2, at home on Wednesday, but rebounded by sweeping competition at the Golden Flyer Invitational in Rochester, N.Y. Saturday and Sunday.  They defeated No. 5 UC Santa Cruz (3-1) Saturday morning before upsetting host No. 2 Nazareth College (3-2) after dropping the first two sets of the match.  Juniata closed out the Invite with a 3-0 route of Hilbert College to win the championship title.  SophomoreMatt Elias (Lansdale, Pa./North Penn) was named the tournament most valuable player and fellow sophomore Chad Albert (Cranberry Township, Pa./Seneca Valley) earned a spot on the all-tournament team.

Elias ran the offense for most of the week and finished with 118 assists.  He also picked up a team-best 27 digs.  Senior Alex McColgin (Buffalo, N.Y./Hamburg) and junior Paul Kuhn (York, Pa./Central York) led the team with 33 kills this past week.  Middles Joe Bortak (Jeannette, Pa./Penn Trafford) and Albert were a force at the net.  They tallied 27 kills each hitting .422 and .535, respectively, and combined for 39 total blocks.  Juniata travels to Cincinnati, Ohio for the Continental Volleyball Conference (CVC) Crossover Weekend Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 22-23 next.  They face off against No. 7 Carthage on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. before taking on the Milwaukee School of Engineering at 9 p.m.

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