(Posted February 4, 2006)

IPFW 3, Juniata 0

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. ? For the second time in as many nights the Juniata College men?s volleyball team hung tough with a Division I foe but was not able to come away with the victory. This time the Eagles suffered a 3-0 set-back to IPFW in the second day of competition at the Penn State Invitational in State College.

The loss dropped Juniata to .500 on the season as the Eagles are now 3-3 on the year. IPFW raised its record to 3-5 on the season by claiming the match by game scores of 30-26, 30-24, 30-24.

All three of Juniata?s 2006 losses have been to Division I opponents, including two at the hands of IPFW.

A late comeback almost gave Juniata a chance to take a 1-0 lead in the match, but the Eagles were unable to come all the way back. After a Colin Lundeen block put IPFW in front 18-13, the Eagles ripped off eight of the next 11 points to tie the game at 21. The run featured kills from Matt Fritz (John Carroll/Churcville, Md.) and Glenn DeHaven (Walt Whitman/South Huntington, N.Y.) and a triple block from DeHaven, Jeremy Barndt (Souderton/Souderton) and Matt Werle (Meadville/Meadville). After trading sideouts, IPFW strung together four of the next five points to take a 26-23 edge. Juniata pulled back within one but would get no closer as a Josh Collins killed sealed the game.

Game two was tight most of the way, as a DeHaven kill put Juniata in front 18-16. IPFW rallied, tying the score at 20. After a Ryan McGinley (Pennridge/Perkasie) made it 21-21, IPFW went on an 8-2 run to take control of the game.

Game three followed a similar pattern as the Eagles hung tough, only to fall victim to a late surge. After trailing by as many as seven points early on, Juniata rallied to tie the score at 18. The Eagles stayed with a point following a Derek Stanley (Manheim Township/Lancaster) kill, and then stayed within two at 24-22 on a block from Barndt and Werle. IPFW once again then got points when it needed them, ripping off four-straight points to take a 28-22 edge and then following a McGinley kill earned the 20-24 victory.

McGinley led the Eagle offense with a career-high 15 kills and an impressive .414 hitting percentage. Fritz also finished in double figures for Juniata with 10 kills. Werle filled up the stat sheet as he passed out 42 assists and led the team with six digs while also adding five blocks. Barndt led the Eagles with six blocks in the match.

C.J. Macias was the top attacker in the match as he finished with 23 kills on the night, while also pacing IPFW with nine digs and a pair of serve aces. Colin Lundeen dished out 43 assists in the match while Josh Stewart tied for the match high with six blocks.

Juniata returns to action on Friday when the Eagles host Division III rival Stevens Institute of Technology.

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