(Posted April 26, 2004)

Huntingdon, PA - The accolades continue to pile up for the Juniata College men's volleyball team as the Eagles placed three players on the 2004 EIVA All-East team as chosen by the All-East Selection Committee. Junior setter Ricky Ziegler (Northeastern/Manchester) was named to the first team, while seniors Kenny Eiser (Central Bucks West/Doylestown) and Brian Dinning (Penn Hills/Pittsburgh) earned second-team recognition. The three All-East selections are the most the Juniata program has ever enjoyed. The All-East team is comprised of two 10-player teams including one reserved spot for a libero on both the first and second team. The team is selected from all of the teams in the 17-team conference. Juniata was the only Division III school to place a player on the first team, and led all Division III programs with its three All-East selections.

Ziegler earns his first All-East recognition in his first season as Juniata's full-time setter. He has been named a first-team All-EIVA Division III performer this season, along with earning AVCA/Sports Imports Division III and EIVA Division III player of the week honors this season. He has ranked among the leaders in Division III in assists per game the entire season, and helped Juniata to a .328 team hitting percentage for the season which led all Division III teams. He was chosen for the all-tournament team in both the EIVA Division III Championships, and the Molten Division III Tournament. He ranks second on the Eagle team in aces with 21, digs with 112 and is third with 74 blocks. Ziegler had a career-high 78 assists in a match this season against Ohio State, and notched another 70 assists against Penn State. He fell just shy of a "triple-double" when he posted 51 assists, nine digs and nine blocks in a win over Saint Francis. He ranked third in the EIVA in assists per game for the season, passing out 1,167 assists on the year.

Eiser also captures his first All East honor during his senior season. The senior middle leads all Division III players in hitting percentage with a mark of .475. He was named the most valuable player of the 2004 Molten Championship as he helped Juniata to the Division III title. He was also a first-team EIVA Division III All-Star this season, the third time he was named to the team. He has pounded out 274 kills on the season, which ranked second on the Juniata team, and was second in blocks with 82. He recorded a season-high 23 kills in a five-game win over Princeton this year, and posted 10 blocks in a victory over Saint Francis. For the year, he recorded a hitting percentage of .333 or better in all but one match, and notched at least 10 kills 18 times during the season. He currently has 356 blocks for his career, which ranks him third in school history. Eiser was chosen as the AVCA/Sports Imports national Division III player of the week once, and has earned EIVA Division III player of the week recognition twice this season.

Dinning receives his first All-East in his first season as a full-time starter for Juniata. He made the most of the opportunity by posting career highs in nearly every category. He was chosen as the AVCA/Sports Imports national Division III and EIVA Division III player of the week during the season. He ranked third on the team in kills and was among the leaders in both Division III and the EIVA in serve aces per game. His 43 aces this season is the second highest single-season total in Juniata history. He saved two of his best performance for the EIVA Division III Championship when he was named the tournament's most valuable player. Dinning recorded career highs with 23 kills and seven aces in a win over Saint Francis. He also was named to the EIVA Division III All-Star team as a second-team performer.

Juniata is in the midst of one of the finest seasons in school history. The Eagles claimed the second Molten Division III National Championship in the school's history this past weekend. Juniata is 17-6 on the season and will continue its postseason contests on Saturday when the Eagles host Springfield in an EIVA quarterfinal.

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