MOC men's volleyball drops two matches

By MOC Sports Information
Published in Sports on January 24, 2009 11:14 PM

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MOC Sports Information

HUNTINGDON, Pa. -- Pedro Penate pounded out 12 kills as Mount Olive College dropped a 30-18, 30-23, 30-25 decision to perennial Division III power Juniata (Pa.) College on Saturday afternoon.

Noel Garcia added eight kills and six digs for the Trojans, who suffered their second consecutive loss in less than 24 hours. Eliezer Maldonado contributed five kills and a team-leading seven digs.

Juniata held Mount Olive to a season-low .082 hitting percentage for the three-set match. The Trojans hit .000 in the first two sets with 17 team kills and 17 team errors.

First-year setter Alex Hoekstra dished out 19 assists to five different hitters, while Mike Carroll served a pair of aces.

Juniata, which opened the season with a three-set loss to Ohio State, improved to 1-1 overall.

Zach Wanner led the Eagles with 15 kills. Evan Halteman and Dan Powers added six kills apiece.

Anthony Damiano emerged the defensive leader with a match-high 13 digs. Teammate Matt Werle collected 29 assists on 39 successful Juniata kills.

Mount Olive (3-2 overall) had its perfect record snapped with a five-set loss Friday evening at Eastern Mennonite (Va.) University. The Royals captured a come-from-behind 30-26, 19-30, 21-30, 30-22, 15-10 victory.

Garcia led four Trojans in double figures with 22 kills. Penate added 14 kills and seven digs. Carroll (six blocks) and Jose Lanier each posted a 14-kill performance.

Camilo Guerci led the MOC defense with eight digs.

Hoekstra handed out 62 assists as the Trojans recorded a whopping 73 kills as a team.

One big difference in the match was service errors -- 29 for the Trojans compared to 11 for EMU.

The Royals seized a 7-5 lead in the fourth set. Carroll and Garcia supplied back-to-back kills to forge a 7-7 tie, but EMU answered with a back-breaking 9-2 run.

Mount Olive fell behind 5-2 in the decisive fifth set. Hoekstra's kill created a 6-6 tie, but the Royals responded with two consecutive kills.

Garcia recorded a block to keep the Trojans within striking distance until EMU reeled off six of the final eight points to clinch the comeback.

The teams will meet two more times -- Feb. 5 at Mount Olive and Feb. 27 in a four-team meet, which will also be contested on the Trojans' homecourt.