(Posted March 18, 2007)

NEW YORK, N.Y. - The top-ranked Juniata College men\'s volleyball team bounced back from a tough five-game loss Saturday afternoon by topping Division III rival fourth-ranked New York University 3-0 Sunday afternoon in New York. Juniata (10-5) used a balanced offensive attack to capture a 30-27, 30-22, 30-28 win over the Violets. It was Juniata\'s fourth victory this season over a team ranked in the CSTV/AVCA Division III Top-15. The Eagles hit .435 as a team and had three players reach double figures led by Nate Ocasio (Northeastern/Manchester) who knocked out 12 finishes. New York had four players reach double figures in kills, with Macnair Sillick and Devin Zolnowski pacing the team with 12 kills, but the Violets were held to a .305 hitting percentage. Game one was tight most of the way, before Juniata pulled away late with some strong defense. Glenn DeHaven (Walt Whitman/South Huntington, N.Y.) started the spurt with a kill and then a double block from DeHaven and Jeremy Barndt (Souderton/Souderton) extended the lead. Juniata then got an ace from Dan Powers (Manheim Township/Lancaster) and a solo block from Barndt to take a 23-19 lead and then stayed in front to earn the win. Juniata raced in front early in game two, riding long serving runs from Ocasio and DeHaven to a 12-6 lead. Consecutive kills from Zolnowski pulled the Violets back within three points, but Juniata pulled away late, closing the games with kills from Barndt and Ocasio. NYU led for much of game three, even pushing out to a three-point lead after a double block from Ilan Goldstein and Brian Vilven made it 18-15. Juniata rallied, taking the lead 21-20 after consecutive kills from Matt Fritz (John Carroll/Churchville, Md.). The teams then traded points, before Ocasio\'s final kill sealed the victory. All but one of Juniata\'s starters posted hitting percentages of .300 or better, as Ocasio hit .308 to go with his 12 kills and five digs. DeHaven posted 11 kills with a .409 hitting mark and a team-high six digs. Fritz added 10 kills with a .600 percentage, and Barndt had nine kills with a .750 hitting percentage and a team-high seven blocks. Matt Werle (Meadville/Meadville) dished out 47 assists for Juniata while also recording five blocks. Sillick and Zolnowski each had 12 kills while Sillick also recorded three blocks. Vilven and Jon Wintermeyer each added 10 kills in the match for the Violets. Goldstein dished out 44 assists for the home team, while helping New York to its .305 hitting percentage. Vilven led NYU with four blocks while David Tener led all players with 10 digs. Vilven and Sillick were both honored before the match in Senior Day ceremonies. Juniata will face off against more ranked Division III foes next weekend when the Eagles play at Stevens Tech on Friday and Springfield College on Saturday. ###

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