(Posted January 19, 2005)

Juniata 3, Saint Francis 0

Loretto, Pa. ? The third time proved to be the charm for the Juniata College men?s volleyball team as the Eagles claimed their first win of the season in their third match against a Division I foe. Juniata downed Division I rival Saint Francis 3-0 in Loretto Wednesday night to improve to 1-2 on the year. Saint Francis fell to 0-4 with the three-game set-back.

The Eagles were in control from the start running out to a 30-23 win in game one. Game two was a tight affair but Juniata held on to claim a 34-32 win, then closed out the match with a 30-26 victory in game three.

Juniata entered the match hitting .314 as a team, and will see that number rise considerably as the Eagles attacked at a strong .512 clip for the match. Ricky Ziegler (Northeastern/Manchester) passed out 44 assists and directed the Eagles to 54 kills with just 11 errors on 84 swings for the match.

The primary recipient of Ziegler?s sets was Matt Springer (William Allen/Allentown) who finished with a career-high and team-high 15 kills. Springer recorded a hitting percentage of .565, one of five Eagle attackers to hit .471 or better on the match. Cordt Withum (Penn Manor/Holtwood) added 11 kills with a .571 attack percentage while Glenn DeHaven (Walt Whitman/South Huntington, N.Y.) was also in double figures with 10 kills.

Juniata?s defense limited Saint Francis to a .250 attack percentage for the match as Juniata posted seven blocks as a team, while finishing with 11 digs. DeHaven finished with four digs to lead the Eagles, while Withum and Springer both record three blocks.

Brandon Kelly, Marc Honore and Dave Paschel all had 11 kills to lead the home team. Josh Springer dished out 27 assists while three players posted four digs apiece.

Juniata will play its first non-Division I opponent, and its first home match of the year on Saturday as the Eagles welcome East Stroudsburg to Huntingdon.

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Contact April Feagley at feaglea@juniata.edu or (814) 641-3131 for more information.