HUNTINGTON, PA – The No. 8 St. John Fisher University men's volleyball team (7-3) was unable to upset No. 2 Juniata, losing in four sets (25-15, 21-25, 17-25, 16-25). With the loss, Fisher holds a 7-3 record on the year, while Juniata remains undefeated at a 9-0 record.
 
The Cardinals have spent the week focusing on getting the middles more involved, and started the first set against No. Juniata with kills from middles Matt Beiter and Griffin Stella to propel the Cardinals to a 9-4 first set edge. The run also featured kills from Jake Baker and Josh Bigford. The attacks led by the middles would not stall out of Juniata timeout, as Stella would add three more kills over the span of five points, bringing the Cardinal lead to 17-11. Three errors by the Eagles would help solidify the first set, 25-15, which was finished off in style with a kill from Baker.
 
Fisher would hit 0.538 in the first set, finishing with 14 kills and an immaculate 0 errors across 26 attempts. The Eagles were able to hit 0.308 in the first set, behind 12 kills and four errors across 26 attempts.
 
In the second set, the Eagles opened with a 5-2 lead after two Cardinal errors. Three supporting kills from Bigford brought the deficit to 7-6. The Cardinals would tie the game at 10-10, where the teams would rally back and forth until the Eagles took a 20-19 advantage. From there, the Eagles would not look back in the second set, claiming five of the next seven points to win by a 25-21 margin.
 
The third set matched the intensity of the second set, and a stellar defensive play by the Eagles continued to shift momentum and send the Cardinals on the run, down 11-6. With the Cardinals down five, the Eagles would use their confidence to push the lead to as much as eight, claiming the third set by a 25-17 score.
 
Down 2-1, Juniata would not let loose, opening a wide 8-3 edge to burn the first Fisher timeout of the set. While Fisher was able to keep the deficit at five, down 15-10, the overwhelming offense of the Eagles was too much to handle. The Eagles would take a 22-15 lead, after back-to-back errors, and would claim the fourth set, 25-16, to down the Cardinals.
 
The success of the Eagles came on defense. After the first set in which the Cardinals hit 0.538, they would go on to hit 0.177 (31 kills, 14 errors, 96 attempts) the rest of the way. On the contrary, the Eagles would post a 0.363 mark (43 kills, 10 errors, 91 attempts) after the loss in the first set.
 
The Cardinals will play two tomorrow to wrap up the Juniata Invitational, including a pivotal matchup at 1 p.m. against No. 3 Messiah University. Their weekend will end against Penn State Altoona at 5 p.m.

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