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Juniata College

Campus News

Juniata College

(Posted May 2, 2007)

HUNTINGDON, Pa. - Another historic year for the Juniata College men\'s volleyball team has earned the Eagles an historic number of postseason honors as Juniata placed seven players on the EIVA Division III All-Star Team. Seniors Nate Ocasio (Northeastern/Manchester) and Jeremy Barndt (Souderton/Souderton) and sophomore Matt Werle (Meadville/Meadville) were all selected to the first team, while seniors Glenn DeHaven (Walt Whitman/South Huntington, N.Y.) and Steve Yeager (Hempfield/East Petersburg), junior Matt Fritz (John Carroll/Churchville, Md.) and sophomore Dan Powers (Manheim Township/Lancaster) claimed second-team honors. The EIVA Division III All-Star Team consists of a seven-player first and second team and is made up of the top Division III players from the EIVA. The selections are the most Juniata has ever earned on the EIVA DIII All-Star Team Barndt claims first-team DIII All-Star honors for the third-consecutive season as he closed his career ranking as one of the top middle hitters in Juniata history. He ranked first on the team with 113 blocks, which moved him into fourth place in Juniata history with 365 blocks for his career. Barndt also posted a remarkable career hitting percentage of .420 after hitting .449 in his senior campaign. He ranked third on the Eagles with 300 kills and had a career high 25 kills with an .821 hitting percentage in a victory over East Stroudsburg. Ocasio also found a spot on the first team for a third-straight year as he ranked as Juniata\'s most consistent offensive performer in 2007. The senior knocked out 394 kills on the year, and averaged 4.19 finishes per game which both ranked as career highs. He was also the Juniata leader with 443 points on the season. Ocasio also contributed 139 digs and 23 serve aces which both ranked third on the team. He reached double figures in kills in 21 of the 24 matches in which he played, and also moved past the 1,000 kill mark for his career during the season. Werle earns Division III All-Star for the second time in his second year of college volleyball and he\'s been a first-team honoree both times. Juniata\'s setter finished the year with 1,326 assists and his 12.87 assists per game ranked among the leaders in both the EIVA and Division III. Werle helped Juniata also rank among the EIVA and Division III leaders in kills per game as a team, and the Eagles enjoyed a team hitting percentage of .289 on the year. He also led Juniata with 30 service aces and was second on the team in both blocks and digs. His digs and blocks totals were both career highs. DeHaven earns his second spot on the EIVA Division III All-Star Team after receiving second-team recognition as a freshman. A four-year starter for the Eagles he has the distinction of being one of just two players on the Juniata roster to play in each of the team\'s Molten Division III Championship matches. In his senior year he knocked out 182 kills, the fourth-highest total on the team and he was also fourth on the team in points scored. Despite missing time due to injury he established a new career high with 129 digs, which also was fourth on the team. DeHaven reached double figures in kills 10 times, and had three matches in which he reached double figures in both kills and digs. Yeager earns EIVA Division III All-Star recognition for the first time in his senior season. He assumed the starting libero position in the early part of the season and proceeded to lead the Eagles with a career-high 201 digs. He averaged 2.26 digs per game on the year and reached double figures in digs in 11 matches. Yeager had just six career double-digit performances entering this season. He matched his career high with 18 digs in a three game victory over NJIT and 17 digs against Springfield and Princeton. His dig per game average ranked him ninth in the EIVA and his 201 digs total were the seventh-highest total in the conference. Fritz earns a spot on the EIVA Division III Team for the second-consecutive season after picking up second-team recognition as a sophomore. He ranked second on Juniata with 313 kills which was the best single-season total of his career. He also was second on the team with 24 aces, while he also ranked fifth in digs and blocks with 107 and 35 respectively. Nineteen times during the year he reached double figures in kills, including a 28-kill performance against Springfield that helped earn him AVCA Division III National Player of the Week honors. Fritz finished the season with 357 points and an average of 3.68 points per game which was second-best on the team. Powers earns the first EIVA Division III All-Star recognition of his career in his first season as a starter for Juniata. The sophomore middle finished the year with 172 kills, and was ranked near the top of the EIVA and Division III in hitting percentage for most of the season. He closed the year with a hitting percentage of .493 which was the second-highest total in the EIVA. Powers committed just 36 attack errors in 276 attacks for the year. He knocked out a career-high 11 kills with a .500 hitting percentage in a win over Division I George Mason. He also closed the year with 47 blocks which ranked third on the team. Juniata finished the season with a record of 17-9 and a 6-6 mark in the EIVA Tait Division. The Eagles also made history by becoming the first program to win four consecutive Molten Division III Men\'s Invitational Volleyball Championships. The Eagles closed the season as the top-ranked team in Division III for the fourth straight year. ###

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