The Elizabethtown College men's volleyball team had an afternoon of firsts, as the Blue Jays upset No. 8 Juniata in the opening match off the day before falling to the Eagles in the second on senior day. The victory was not only the first win for Etown over Juniata but the first win over a ranked opponent in program history.
The Blue Jays (1-3, 1-3) were led by sophomore Steve Swain who finished the afternoon with 23 kills. Sophomores Tony Camillo and Cheston Jacobs controlled the middle, as Camillo hit a combined .438 with 14 kills, while Jacobs tallied a .524 hitting percentage and 13 kills. Graduate student Matt Schaeffer tallied 56 assists between the two matches. Senior Joey Nelson registered his 400th career kill in the opening match, becoming the first player in program history to reach this milestone. Before the start of the opening match, Nelson and Schaeffer were both honored in a senior day celebration.
The Eagles (8-2, 3-1) were led by junior middle Kevin Duffy who finished the day with 34 kills. Duffy highlighted the second match, tallying 18 kills and hitting .708.
The second match saw Juniata dominate the first set as they hit .500 with 17 kills as they took the opener 25-19.
The second set started off looking like the Eagles would cruise through it as they went on a 6-1 run to start, but the Blue Jays quickly closed the gap, getting within one at 7-6. It was close for the set's duration, as Elizabethtown led for the last time at 20-21. Goldsborough put down a kill and followed with an ace; Etown took the next two points on an Eagle service error and an ace. Following a JC timeout, the teams traded four points, with an Etown kill making it 25-25. Duffy gave JC their third set point, and Goldsborough followed his own o ended the second set, 27-25.
The third set was tight early, with Elizabethtown scoring three straight to lead 13-15. JC had an immediate response, with a Duffy kill along with three in a row from Goldsborough. The Blue Jays called timeout, but Duffy notched another kill. An attack error by the Eagles made it 16-18, but JC rattled off seven straight points to end the match, with two Grant Crytzer (Freeport, Pa. / Freeport) aces ending the match, 25-16.
Duffy had a big day for the Eagles, tallying 34 kills across the two matches while hitting .640 to go with five block assists. Goldsborough added 26 kills while hitting .477, seven aces, and 20 digs. Ganter put 90 assists (11.25 per set) and 18 digs across the two matches.
Juniata alumnus Matt Schaeffer '20 is now a graduate student-athlete at Elizabethtown, and he amassed 56 assists and 17 digs for the Blue Jays in the two matches.