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Men's Volleyball Stuns Juniata in Five, Advances to EIVA Quarterfinals

04/16/08

Four players recorded double-digit kills and the team hit a combined .350 as the New York University men's volleyball team stunned host Juniata College 3-2 in the first round of the EIVA Tournament on Wednesday, April 16, in Huntingdon, PA.

After splitting the first four games (24-30, 30-28, 30-25, 28-30), the Violets took the decisive fifth game 15-12 to advance to the EIVA Quarterfinals for the first time ever. In addition to winning at Juniata for the first time since 2000, the victory represented the first time a Hay Division team defeated a Tait team in tournament history.

And so, the Violets earned a return trip to Pennsylvania on Saturday to face fourth-seeded St. Francis University at 7:00 pm.

"It was a great win for our team and the program," said head coach Jose Pina. "Being the first Hay team to win a playoff game and to do it against Juniata makes it extra special."

The Violets (22-7), ranked #5 in the final CBS College Sports Network/AVCA Division III Men's Coaches Top 15 Poll of the 2008 season, traded points with the #4 Eagles (10-15) through most of game one. However, with the score knotted at 22, Juniata went on a 8-2 run to take the game 30-24.

NYU started game two slowly, falling behind 6-3. The team quickly rallied though, reeling off seven of the next eight points to take the lead. The two teams again traded points until late in the game when senior Willy McFarland notched three straight kills to help secure the game for the Violets 30-25.

In game three, NYU took a small lead at the outset. Juniata closed the lead later in the game and eventually tied it at 24-24. The game was still tied at 28-28 when senior tri-captain Devin Zolnowski reeled off two of his 12 kills to secure the game at 30-28.

In game four, Juniata took a lead from the outset and watched it grow, eventually taking the game 30-24 to tie the match 2-2.

In game five NYU quickly found itself down 5-3. Out of an NYU time-out the team righted the ship with a kill by Zolnowski and a key solo block from sophomore Eric Chakeen. After another block from Chakeen and freshman Francis Hodgson, Juniata was forced to take a time-out of its own. After ties at 6-6 and 7-7, NYU took the next three points and never looked back, taking the final game 15-12.

Leading the way on offense was senior tri-captain and All-American Jonathan Wintermeyer. The middle put down a team-best 18 kills and hit .467 while adding two digs and four blocks.

Fellow All-American Hodgson also had a strong match, putting down 13 kills while hitting a team-best .480 and adding five blocks.

McFarland also had an outstanding match, notching 14 kills and hitting .400 while adding six digs.

Junior setter Ilan Goldstein ran a strong offense, putting up 60 assists while adding two kills, four digs and three blocks. Goldstein also set a personal milestone, eclipsing the 2,000-assist plateau for his career.