(Posted March 24, 2007)

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - It took five games and a comeback from a two games-to-one deficit but the Juniata College men\'s volleyball team remained unbeaten against Division III competition with a thrilling 3-2 win over fifth-ranked Springfield College Saturday night. Juniata (12-5) got a career-high 28 kills from Matt Fritz (John Carroll/Churchville, Md.) to rally and earn the 30-25, 26-30, 23-30, 30-28, 15-11 win. It marked Juniata\'s 33rd-consecutive victory over a Division III foe. Andrew Nally matched Fritz with 28 finishes for Springfield (16-7) which led the Eagles in nearly every statistical category but were unable to come away with the win. The Eagles knocked out 79 kills and hit .316 as a team, including a .476 hitting percentage in the decisive game five. Juniata had just one attack error in the final game as they claimed the victory in the fifth, sealing the victory on a kill from Nate Ocasio (Northeastern/Manchester). The Blue and Gold also hit .515 in the first game in claiming the win, but were held to .276 or lower in games two, three and four. Springfield was remarkably efficient offensively throughout the match as the Pride posted a .353 hitting percentage and had four players reach double figures in kills. The Pride hit no worse than .275 in any of the five games and out-blocked Juniata 10.5-8 on the night. Juniata finished with three players posting 10 or more kills led by Fritz\' 28 as the junior posted a .420 hitting percentage while also adding three aces. Ocasio added 19 finishes for the Blue and Gold, while Glenn DeHaven (Walt Whitman/South Huntington, N.Y.) knocked out 14 finishes. Matt Werle (Meadville/Meadville) distributed 64 assists for Juniata while also adding 11 digs. Fritz was tops on the team with five digs with Steve Yeager (Hempfield/East Petersburg) leading the way with a career-high 17 digs. Nally hit .468 to earn his 28 kills while also posting 12 digs. Ryan Frederickson was also in double figures with 14 kills, while Dave Smietana and Andy Sipe each had 11 finishes. Eric Shoemaker contributed 68 assists for the Pride in the match. Sipe led all players with seven blocks, while Javier Rosario was tops on the team with 16 digs. Juniata will return to action on Wednesday night when they host EIVA Tait Division rival Penn State. ###

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