(Posted April 2, 2001)

MEN'S VOLLEYBALL (12-11, 7-7 EIVA Tait): Apr. 3, East Stroudsburg; Apr. 7-8, EIVA Div. III Championship.

Juniata opened the week with a 30-22, 30-18, 30-21 Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (EIVA) Tait Division loss at home to Penn State on Tuesday. The Eagles were ranked second in the most recent American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Division III Poll, while the Nittany Lions were rated 10th in the Division I Poll. Sophomore middle hitter Chris Jones (Lower Merion/Wayne) had six kills and five blocks to pace Juniata. Sophomore outside hitter Neil Lukas (Fairport/Fairport, NY) turned in six digs, three blocks, three kills and an ace on the night, while senior setter Kevin Moore (Webster/Webster, NY) added in 13 assists, five kills, three digs and three rejections. On Friday, the blue and gold came back from being down, 2-0, to record a thrilling, 28-30, 27-30, 30-21, 30-25, 15-9 win at Princeton in EIVA Tait action. Freshman opposite Ryan Genova (Antietam/Reading) led the Eagles with 21 kills, five digs and two blocks. Freshman outside hitter Javier Garcia (San Ignacio/Guaynabo, Puerto Rico) turned in 16 kills, five blocks, four digs and two aces. Jones added in 13 kills, four blocks, four digs and an ace, while freshman middle hitter Kenny Eiser (Central Bucks West/Doylestown) led the unit in rejections with seven and he also had eight kills. Lukas paced Juniata in digs with eight, while sophomore setter Scott Kofmehl (North Allegheny/Pittsburgh) distributed 62 assists on the eveing. On Saturday afternoon, two of the top three teams in the AVCA Division III Poll got together at New York University for an outing to decide which institution would get the opportunity to host the upcoming EIVA Division III Championship. The host Violets battled back from a 2-1 deficit and from being down, 14-12, in the fifth game to post a 3-2 triumph (30-25, 27-30, 31-33, 30-23, 18-16) over Juniata. The Violets were third in the most recent Division III ratings. As a result of the victory, NYU (13-11) earned the number-one seed in this coming weekend's (Apr. 7 & 8) EIVA Div. III Championship and will take on fourth-seeded Springfield College (MA) in one semifinal on Saturday at 3:00 p.m. Juniata will be the second-seeded program and will battle third-seeded Vassar College, a squad that downed the Eagles on February 17, 31-29, 30-23, 21-30, 30-26, in the other semifinal on Saturday at noon. The winners will face each other in the championship match at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday and the EIVA Div. III champion will earn a spot in the upcoming (Apr. 13 & 14) Molten Division III national championship (hosted by Springfield). Juniata has five EIVA Div. III crowns in its history with the most recent coming in 1999. Last spring, NYU hosted and won the EIVA Div. III title. Garcia paced the Eagles on Saturday with 21 kills, five digs and three blocks. Genova posted 15 kills, six digs, four rejections and two aces. Kofmehl had 48 assists, a team-best 11 digs, five kills and two aces. Eiser led the unit in blocks with seven and he also had six kills.

BASEBALL (9-7-1, 2-2 Commonwealth): Apr. 2 at Moravian (2); Apr. 7, Messiah (2).

In a re-scheduled game from the previous week, Juniata lost at Gettysburg on Monday, 14-8, in non-conference action. Freshman shortstop Marc Frailey (Middletown Area/Middletown) was 3 for 5 with a double and a run scored for the Eagles. Junior first baseman Tim Dobson (Millville/Millville, NJ) went 2 for 5, including a double, two runs scored and an RBI. Junior pitcher/designated hitter Tim Keeley (Caledonia-Mumford/Caledonia, NY) was 2 for 4, scored a run and knocked in another. The Eagles had their doubleheader with York postponed due to rain and poor field conditions. No make-up date has been scheduled as of yet for the twin bill with the Spartans. On Saturday, Juniata's doubleheader at Moravian was postponed until Monday, Apr. 2 due to inclement weather.

SOFTBALL (7-5): Apr. 3 at Messiah (2); Apr. 4 at Frostburg (2); Apr. 7, Moravian (2).

Juniata squeezed in a pair of doubleheaders in between plenty of rain drops during the past week. On Wednesday, the Eagles lost the first game of a two-game set at Susquehanna, 5-4, and then had their second contest in Selinsgrove stopped due to darkness with the game tied at 6-6 following seven innings of play. Due to Commonwealth Conference rules, the second tilt will be replayed in its entirety on April 10 at 4:00 p.m., and the Eagles will cancel their doubleheader with Penn State-Altoona to get the conference game in. In the opener, junior shortstop Brandy Preslovich (Bald Eagle Area/Moshannon) was 2 for 3 with a double, a run scored and an RBI, while freshman right fielder Amy Gable (Kennard-Dale/Stewartstown) was 2 for 4 and scored twice. In the nightcap on Wednesday, Gable was 4 for 4 at the plate and she stole two bases and scored two times. Sophomore Lauren Baker (Susquehannock/Spring Grove), who was the club's designated player in the outing, was 2 for 4 with two RBI and a run scored. Thursday's doubleheader at York was postponed and no make up date has been selected as of yet, while the club's twin bill with visiting Elizabethtown on Saturday was called off and rescheduled for April 18. On Sunday, the Eagles split a doubleheader at Albright. The Lions took the opener, 6-5, while Juniata claimed the second tilt, 5-4. In the day's first game, Preslovich was 3 for 4, including a triple, and scored three times, freshman second baseman Becky Herr (Hamburg/Hamburg) was 2 for 3, scored twice and had a double and an RBI. Freshman designated player Amber Helsel (Claysburg-Kimmel/Claysburg) went 2 for 3. In the second game, Gable got the win on the mound. She tossed all seven innings, gave up nine hits and four earned runs, walked one and struck out four. Offensively, Gable was 3 for 4 with a run scored, a stolen base, a double and an RBI. Herr was 2 for 4 and plated a runner, while freshman catcher Sarah Patterson (Danville/Danville) was 2 for 4 and scored once.

MEN'S TRACK & FIELD: Apr. 7, Blue & Gold Invitational.

The Eagles traveled to Selinsgrove for the second straight Saturday and took part in the highly-competitive Susquehanna Invitational where almost 900 athletes were on hand for the non-team scoring meet. Junior Ashley Mort (Blue Mountain/Orwigsburg) took third in the 200 meters (22.82) and was 10th in the 100-meter dash (11.52). Sophomore Dusty Lehr (Bermudian Springs/New Oxford) turned in a fourth-place showing in the 110-meter high hurdles (15.48). In addition, Lehr was seventh in the pole vault (13-2) and eighth in the high jump (6-0). Senior Josh Kline (Bellefonte/Bellefonte) placed fifth in the javelin (180-10), while sophomore Scott Shacreaw (Blairsville/Black Lick) was sixth in the same event (179-5). Sophomore Noah Fredette (Weedsport/Weedsport, NY) was seventh in the 1,500 meters (4:15.48), while sophomore Nick Wolfe (McConnellsburg/McConnellsburg) placed eighth in the 400 meters (50.68). In addition, the club's 4x100-meter relay unit placed fourth on the day (43.76).

WOMEN'S TRACK & FIELD: Apr. 7, Blue & Gold Invitational.

Juniata participated in the non-team scoring Susquehanna Invitational on Saturday where 22 schools were on hand for action in Selinsgrove. Freshman Stefanie Rynkewitz (Lewistown/Lewistown) placed fourth in the 400 meters (1:01.66) and was 11th in the 200-meter run (27.67). Junior Jessica Sprankle (Tyrone/Tyrone) took eighth in the 400-meter intermediate hurdles (1:09.44) and turned in a 10th-place showing in the 100-meter high hurdles (16.72) to complete the top-10 efforts on the day by blue and gold performers.

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