(Posted April 2, 2010)

HOBOKEN, N.J. -- Juniata College middle hitters Evan Halteman (Perkiomenville, Pa./Christopher Dock) and Ben Wolff (Meadville, Pa./Meadville) hit a combined .492 for the match and led the Eagles with 17 and 16 respectively, leading the number one-ranked Eagles to a 3-2 win over Stevens Institute of Technology, Friday night at Canavan Arena.

Set scores for Juniata were 24-30, 30-23, 24-30, 30-26, and 15-13.

Halteman put down his 17 kills on 26 swings, while Wolff tallied 16 terminations on 33 attacks. The two combined for just four errors.

Outside hitter Zach Wanner (Lancaster, Pa./Hempfield) finished with 12 kills while Mike Kraft (York, Pa./Eastern York) had 11 kills. Kraft also turned up 16 digs for the Eagles, slightly more than senior libero Anthony Damiano (Lititz, Pa./Manheim Township) who recorded 15 digs for the match.

Setter John Almquist (York, Pa./Central York) set 54 assists while guiding the Eagles to a .208 hitting percentage. That was well below the .228 hitting percentage posted by the host Ducks, who also outdid Juniata on digs, 72-64.

Juniata (7-12) did hold an edge in service aces with seven, including three by Almquist. The Eagles also managed to hold a slim advantage over the Ducks in blocks, 12.5 to 12.0, including seven total blocks by both Wanner and Wolff.

Stevens (19-10) was led by Jonathan Landis with 27 kills on 55 swings with seven errors, posting a .364 attack percentage. The only other Stevens player to finish with a double-digit kill total was John Dennan, who tallied 11 terminations.

Each side won two sets handily, setting the stage for a decisive fifth set that initially looked like it might also be a blow-out in favor of Juniata.

The Eagles bolted out to a 6-1 lead, after back-to-back kills by Wolff. Wolff actually posted three of Juniata's first six kills, with Wanner adding a pair.

Juniata stayed well ahead of Stevens and looked to have the match well in hand at 14-8 following a kill by Dan Follett (Cranberry Township, Pa./Seneca Valley). However the Ducks rattled off the next five points, including three straight kills by Landis. Juniata called timeout to regroup, and Wolff put down match point on Timothy Karl's serve out of the timeout.

Juniata closes out its home slate this Friday, April 9, when it hosts Princeton University at 7:00 p.m. at the Kennedy Sports + Recreation Center.

Complete box score and match play-by-play

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