(Posted January 27, 2006)

Juniata 3, East Stroudsburg 2

HUNTINGDON, Pa. ? The Juniata College men?s volleyball team overcame a two-game deficit to claim its first victory of 2006 as the Eagles rallied past East Stroudsburg 3-2 in Huntingdon Friday night.

The Eagles claimed the win over the Division II foe by game scores of 24-30, 28-30, 30-25, 30-27 and 17-15 to improve to 1-1 on the year. East Stroudsburg dropped to 3-4 on the year with the set-back.

After coming back from the two-game deficit, the Eagles were again forced to rally in game give when a John Daley kill and a Juniata attack error made the score 12-11 East Stroudsburg. The team?s then exchanged service errors before a Warrior service error put Juniata on top 14-13. Kills from Daley and Jesse Landis helped the visitors stave off two game points, but Juniata finally claimed the win as Jeremy Barndt (Souderton/Souderton) knocked down his team-leading 16th kill to seal the victory.

Juniata looked out of rhythm in both games one and two as the Warriors built a 2-0 lead. Juniata led only briefly in game one and despite hanging tough with late kills from Matt Fritz (John Carroll/Churchville, Md.) and Glenn DeHaven (Walt Whitman/South Huntington, N.Y.) in game two the Warriors claimed that game as well.

The tied turned midway through game three as a DeHaven kill and then an ace sparked a small run that put the Eagles on top 18-16. The Warriors came back to tie the score at 19, but Juniata countered with a 5-1 run highlighted by kills from Barndt and Fritz that put the Eagles in command. The Warriors pulled back within two, but Juniata hung on and closed the game with a finish from Cordt Withum (Penn Manor/Holtwood).

The Eagles built a comfortable lead in game four as a Matt Springer (William Allen/Allentown) ace gave the home team a 15-10 advantage. The Warriors responded, eventually pulling even at 18 points. The game would be tied five more times with the final time coming on a Keith Eckenrode kill that knotted the score at 27. The Eagles then scored the final three points as a solo block from Barndt and a Withum kill led Juniata to the victory, setting up the decisive game five.

Barndt finished with 16 kills and a solid .421 hitting percentage, while also recording six blocks. Fritz pounded out 13 kills, while DeHaven and Withum chipped in 12 and 10 respectively. Withum led the Eagles with eight blocks in the match as the Eagles narrowly outblocked East Stroudsburg 14.5-13. Matt Werle (Meadville/Meadville) dished out 51 assists in just his second collegiate match, while also leading the team with three aces. Steve Yeager (Hempfield/East Petersburg) finished with 16 digs to lead all Juniata players.

Daley posted a match-high 17 kills for the visitors and attacked at a .433 clip. Landis and Jeff Quinn both added 11 kills. Adam Holdredge passed out 50 assists in the contest. R.J. Roth brought up a match-best 22 digs, while Daley led all players with nine blocks.

Juniata returns to action on Saturday as the team hosts third-ranked New York University in a battle of highly-ranked Division III foes.

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