(Posted February 4, 2005)

Ohio State 3, Juniata 0

Huntingdon, Pa. ? The location was different, but the result was similar as the Juniata College men?s volleyball team hung tough with 12th-ranked Ohio State but could not break through as the Eagles fell by a 3-0 score in Huntingdon Friday night. Juniata drops to 2-4 with the loss while the Buckeyes are now 7-2.

Juniata was looking to avenge a season-opening loss to Ohio State in Columbus, but the fortunes didn?t turn in Huntingdon as the Eagles fell by game scores of 30-20, 30-27 and 30-26.

The visitors got started quickly in game one as the serving of Andy Cole paced Ohio State to a 6-1 lead. The lead continued to expand as a Mark Greaves ace gave the visitors their largest lead at 20-9. Juniata coach Ken Shibuya went to his bench and got a spark from Matt Fritz (John Carroll/Churchville, Md.) who pounded out back-to-back kills to pull the Eagles to 29-17. Fritz and Cordt Withum (Penn Manor/Holtwood) then combined on a block for bring the Eagles back within 11, but Layne Dreven answered with a kill to seal the win.

Game two was much tighter as neither team led by more than three points. A pair of kills from Fritz put Juniata in front 14-11 mid-way through the game. The Buckeyes answered by scoring four of the next five points to tie the score. The teams remained within a point until 23-23 when a kill from Mike Wauligman and a Juniata attack error put the visitors in front by two. Kills from Withum and Fritz tied the game at 26, but two Eagle service errors put Ohio State back in front, and Andy Cole posted two kills on the final two points to finish the game.

Game three was also tight with Juniata moving in front late by a 20-19 score after a kill from Matt Springer (William Allen/Allentown). The Buckeyes responded with a 5-1 run, highlighted by a pair of kills from Greaves. Withum halted the run with a kill, and the Eagles climbed back within two points three times the final with a kill from Springer making the score 28-26 in favor of the Buckeyes. Ohio State then got kills from Greaves and Dreven to secure the win.

Fritz came off the bench to lead the Eagles with 13 kills, which was a career high, while posting a solid .318 hitting percentage. Springer also reached double figures off the bench as he finished with 12 kills. Ricky Ziegler (Northeastern/Manchester) passed out 40 assists while adding a team best two aces, three digs and a pair of blocks. Four other Eagles finished with three digs, while Withum matched Ziegler with two blocks. Juniata hit .209 as a team for the match.

Greaves led all players with 14 kills in the match. Cole and Dreven were also in double figures with 11 and 10 respectively. Daniel Mathews finished with 39 assists and helped the Buckeyes hit .402 as a team. Cole chipped in with a team-high six digs, while Dreven posted six blocks.

Juniata returns to the court on Sunday as the Eagles welcome EIVA Tait Division foe Princeton University to Huntingdon.

###

Our readers respond...

Be the first to provide a response.

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