(Posted April 5, 2011)

HUNTINGDON, Pa. -- Juniata College men's volleyball stifled the Red Flash of Saint Francis after a tight first set, converting on 76.5 % of their serve receive opportunities in the final two sets to easily win in three on Tuesday night at the Kennedy Sports + Recreation Center.

Set scores for Juniata were 26-24, 25-21, and 25-21.

Pin hitter Alex McColgin (Hamburg, N.Y./Hamburg) led the Eagles with 15 kills on 24 swings hitting .458 for the match. From behind the service line, McColgin served for three of the Juniata's five aces, two of them coming back-to-back in the second set.

Chris Vrooman (Baden, Pa./ Ambridge Area) tallied 11 kills but recorded seven errors after being blocked three times early in the match. Tonight's match was Vrooman's sixteenth match with 11+ kills. Mike Kraft (York, Pa./Eastern York) led a well-rounded offense, dishing out 44 assists and had three terminations. Ross Madden (Richmond, Va./ Deep Run) tallied nine kills on 16 swings, and Ben Wolff (Meadville, Pa./ Meadville) chipped in with eight.

John Proudt had a hand in a match-high five blocks, including one solo block to end the second set. Dan Follett (Cranberry Township, Pa./Seneca Valley paced the Eagle defense with a game-high eight digs. John Almquist (York, Pa./ Central York) came in to serve in the first set at 22-20 in Juniata's favor, and sprawled for two of his four digs to tie the game up at 22.

An attack error by McColgin gave the Red Flash the 23-22 advantage, but McColgin bounced back with a kill to tie it again at 23 before going back to the service line and rattling off two tough serves. A kill by Saint Francis's Logan Patterson tied the game for the ninth time at 24-24, but a kill by Madden followed by another McColgin kill ended the set 26-24.

In the second set, Juniata was on the attack and held a slim lead for most of the game. Saint Francis made a slight run to bring the score to 17-16, but the Eagles would not let them regain a lead. Almquist again entered the match, and served for a few points to give the Juniata a 21-18 advantage. Red Flash errors would close the match at 25-21.

The third set faired much the same, as the Eagles outlasted the Red Flash committing only five attack errors in the match. Vrooman had six kills on seven swings to lead the Eagles to a 25-21 victory.

Juniata returns to action on Friday, April 8, when it battles Sacred Heart University in its last home appearance of the season. The Eagles will honor their two seniors, Dan Follett and Chris Vrooman, for their four years of hard work and dedication during ceremonies between sets two and three.


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