(Posted April 2, 2005)

Juniata 3, Springfield 2

Springfield, Mass. ? The Juniata men?s volleyball team closed the out its regular season with a convincing 3-0 road victory over Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Conn. Saturday afternoon. Juniata improved to 15-7 on the year, while Sacred Heart fell to 2-13.

The match gave Juniata an opportunity to give some playing time for some of its reserve players. The Eagles demonstrated their depth as they dominated the home team, winning the match by scores of 30-16, 30-18 and 30-19.

Juniata finished the match with 43 kills and a .443 hitting percentage, while limiting the home team to just 17 kills and a -.086 hitting percentage. It marked the lowest kill total, and hitting percentage for any Juniata opponent this season.

Matt Fritz (John Carroll/Churchville, Md.) paced the Juniata attack with nine kills in the match, while also adding six digs. Ryan McGinley (Pennridge/Perkasie) and Matt Springer (William Allen/Allentown) each added eight kills. Zach Bock (Northeastern/Manchester) directed the Eagle attack from his setter position, passing out 37 assists for the match. Dan Rapp (Walt Whitman/Melville, N.Y.) led Juniata?s defense with three blocks in the match. Juniata recorded seven blocks in the three games.

Michael Gardner was the top attacker for the home team as he knocked out eight kills. Dan DuVall finished with 14 assists while Jake Pelletier led the team with four digs.

Juniata begins postseason play on Friday when the Eagles begin play in the EIVA Division III postseason. As the top-seed in the four-team postseason, Juniata will play the fourth-seed Vassar College on Friday evening. The winner of the EIVA Division III postseason earns an automatic berth to the Molten Division III Championships, which will be held April 14-15.

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