(Posted March 18, 2005)

Juniata 3, Ball State 0

Huntingdon, Pa. ? They may have come more than two weeks apart, but for the second time in as many matches the Juniata College men?s volleyball team claimed a win over a Division I opponent, this time claiming a hard-fought 3-0 triumph over visiting Ball State in Huntingdon Friday night. Juniata improved to 9-6 on the year as they won the match by game scores of 34-32, 30-28 and 34-32. The Cardinals fell to 10-10 with the loss.

Each game was tight right to the end. The Eagles held an early advantage in game one, but saw Ball State rally to eventually tie the game at 28. The teams traded side outs for several points with the visitors fighting off four game points before a Ricky Ziegler (Northeastern/Manchester) solo block sealed the 34-32 win.

In game two it was the Cardinals pushing out to the early lead, before Juniata put together a rally. Trailing 21-18 the Eagles rode the serving of Glenn DeHaven (Walt Whitman/South Huntington, N.Y.) 7-0 run which featured another solo block from Ziegler and a combined block from Ziegler and Jeremy Barndt (Souderton/Souderton). The run put Juniata in front 25-21. The visitors responded by scoring the next four points to tie the score at 25. Juniata moved back in front but a pair of kills from setter Dave Carlson tied the score at 28. The Eagles then claimed the win with Cordt Withum (Penn Manor/Holtwood) posting a kill and then an attack error from Ball State.

Game three also rolled past the 30-point mark as the two teams repeatedly exchanged side outs down the stretch. After Ball State claimed a 22-20 lead and the Eagles answered with back-to-back kills from DeHaven and Withum to tie the score, neither team would lead by more than a point until the finish. The Eagles had the first opportunity as a kill from Withum made the score 29-28 Juniata. Back-to-back blocks from the Cardinals swung things in their favor as they took a 30-29 lead. Juniata would fight off three game points, finally tying the score at 32 with a kill from Barndt. DeHaven and Ocasio then each recorded kills as Juniata won the final game 34-32.

Nick Bernardo (Christopher Dock/Lansdale) led a balanced Juniata offense as he posted a team-high 14 kills. Withum added 12 finishes while Barndt and Ocasio each had nine. Ziegler passed out 47 assists to direct the Eagle offense while he also tossed in a match-high three aces. Tim Cole (Pennsbury/Yardley) led all players with 10 digs, while Ziegler also had a team-best five blocks.

For the visitors it was Nick Meyer who topped all players with 18 kills in the match. Carlson finished with 45 assists. Defensively Evan Berg paced the team with seven digs, while Meyer recorded a match-high seven blocks.

Juniata returns to action on Saturday when the Eagles welcome Newbury College to Huntingdon.

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