2006-07 News Archives
Juniata Men's Volleyball Falls to Springfield, 3-0
Huntingdon, Pa. - In a battle of a pair of teams ranked in
the top four of Division III men's volleyball the second-ranked
Juniata College men came out on the short end of a 3-0 decision to
fourth-ranked Springfield College (Mass.) in the Eastern
Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (EIVA) Division III
Championship Saturday in Huntingdon.
Huntingdon, PA- In a battle of a pair of teams ranked in the top
four of Division III men's volleyball the second-ranked Juniata
College men came out on the short end of a 3-0 decision to
fourth-ranked Springfield College (Mass.) in the Eastern
Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (EIVA) Division III
Championship Saturday in Huntingdon.
The loss was the first for Juniata (13-7) against a Division III
opponent since 2004, a stretch of 32 matches. Springfield (18-8)
used a balanced offensive attack that saw four players record eight
kills as the Pride hit .308 as a team. Juniata fell by game scores
of 30-25, 38-36 and 30-25.
Juniata was led by Nate Ocasio (Northeastern/Manchester) who led
all players with 17 kills, but the Eagles were unable to find
offensive consistency throughout the match.
Springfield led from the start in game one, with a Dave Smietana
service ace helping the visitors to a 14-9 edge. Juniata got no
closer than three points for the rest of the game as a Smietana
kill sealed the victory.
Game two was remarkable as both teams had chances to claim the win
late in the match. Juniata trailed again early but then scored
recorded four double blocks in seven points to move in front 22-21.
Consecutive kills from Ocasio seemed to put Juniata in control with
a 28-25 lead, but Springfield scored six of the next eight points
with a kill from Andy Sipe putting the Pride at game point 31-30.
The Eagles answered with a pair of kills from Jeremy Barndt
(Souderton/Souderton) to have its own chance at winning the game,
but Springfield countered with a kill and a double block to again
take control. Juniata fought off four game points before a kill
from Sipe closed out the game.
Springfield again took control early in game three as a serving run
from Eric Shoemaker helped the Pride build a 10-6 lead.
Three-straight points later in the game extended the lead to six,
before a Barndt solo block sparked a run that pulled Juniata within
two at 16-14. The Eagles eventually got back within one point at
20-19 on a kill from Dan Powers (Manheim Township/Lancaster) but
the Pride came up with the points down the stretch to seal the
match with a 30-25 win.
Juniata hit .207 for the match, including .081 and .171 in games
one and three respectively.
Ocasio finished with 17 kills and a .316 hitting percentage. Barndt
produced 11 finished and hit .400 for the Blue and Gold while also
leading all players with eight blocks. Powers also hit .500 with
eight kills. Matt Werle (Meadville/Meadville) passed out 41 assists
on the day and Steve Yeager (Hempfield/East Petersburg) led Juniata
with 17 digs.
Despite being outblocked 12.5-11.5 Springfield finished with 31
digs to just 17 for Juniata. Ryan Frederickson led the Pride with
12 kills while Sipe added 11 and hit .529. AJ Nally added nine
finishes and Smietana chipped in with eight. Shoemaker passed out
45 assists for the visitors while adding seven digs. Nally led the
team with eight digs while Sipe paced the squad with six blocks.