HUNTINGDON, Pa.- The #11 Juniata men's volleyball team put together another strong performance on Tuesday evening inside Memorial Gymnasium, completing a 3-0 (25-14, 25-14, 25-23) sweep over the Tomcats of Thiel College. The victory also served as a milestone for Head Coach Glenn DeHaven '07, who achieved his 100th career victory at Juniata as the coach of the Eagles which ties Larry Bock for the most wins by a coach in men's volleyball program history.
After the teams traded the first few points, tied at 4-4 in the first set, the Eagles went on a magnificent 10-point run, with Reese Ganter (Reading, Pa. / Exeter Township HS) supplying two service aces along with two kills from Tyler Goldsborough (Reading, Pa. / Exeter Township HS) and another from Luke Hoffman (Reading, Pa. / Exeter Township HS). The chemistry among the three former high school turned college teammates was on display as usual. The Eagles converted the momentum from that scoring run into a .429 hitting percentage in the first set.
Juniata's dominance continued in the second set, with their hitting percentage only dipping slightly, to .375 percent in the set. Thiel struggled to produce a response, hitting -.087 in the second set. Ganter's excellent service continued as he produced another two service aces. Drew Hunker (Pittsburgh, Pa. / North Allegheny HS) added two services aces of his own, along with four kills in the set. Two late kills from Campbell Gerdeman (Carlsbad, Calif. / Sage Creek HS) closed out the second set.
The third set proved to be a closer affair, with Thiel improving their hitting percentage to .250. Juniata's set lead allowed for lineup rotation, with 14 players seeing the floor during the match. The two teams traded points for most of the set before Juniata was able to close out the match on a Wesley Eaton (Chicago, Ill. / Latin School of Chicago HS) service ace.
Ganter finished with a very strong stat line, having 26 assists to go along with five total service aces, four digs, and a kill. Max Cooley (Bethel Park, Pa. / Bethel Park HS) and Hunker both finished with nine kills, leading the team. Gerdeman trailed them with six.
The Eagles will now have a few days to rest up before hitting the road on Saturday to participate in a tri-match with Kean University and SUNY Potsdam, with Kean serving as the hosts. Juniata faces the hosts at noon to begin the day.
