HUNTINGDON, Pa. (4/7/21) – Jared Ray tied a career-high with 26 kills and 10 digs as the #7 Kean University men's volleyball team bowed out of the Continental Volleyball Tournament with a 3-2 loss to #9 Juniata College in the semifinals on Wednesday evening.
Will Phelan totaled 20 kills for the Eagles who improve to 13-2 overall and advance to Saturday's CVC Championship match against the top seed Knights of Southern Virginia University.
Ian Capp totaled 26 assists, 12 kills, six digs, three blocks assists and two digs for the Cougars who finish the 2021 campaign at 9-4 overall.
After dropping the first set, the Cougars picked up the next two sets to take a 2-1 lead entering the fourth set. Ray and Milnazik combined for 15 kills as Kean posted a .333 hitting percentage in the 31-29 set two victory. The second set saw the Cougars need extra points as Milnazik tallied back-to-back to help Kean secure the victory.
The third set saw the Cougars posted a match-high. 565 hitting percentage with Ray, Capp and Milnazik combining for 13 kills in the 25-21 set three victory.
The Eagles took the final two sets with scores of 25-16 and 15-10. Juniata recorded a .444 hitting percentage in the fourth set and a staggering .733 hitting percentage in the final set.
Ray tied his career-high set in the 3-1 victory over nationally-ranked Rutgers-Newark on Mar. 17
th. Ray joins All-American's
Steve Valhalla and
Bez Arslani to hit the 26 kills mark in a single match. This was the sophomore's 10
th time hitting the mark in double digit kills for his career. Also, Capp surpassed 2,300 career assists and
Zach Gerken totaled his 1,000
th career assists.
Gerken finished with 29 assists for the match and needed 13 coming into today's semifinal match. The senior's 1000
th career assist came in the third set with an assist to Milnazik as Kean trailed 7-5.
Milnazik totaled 17 kills and eight digs, while
Seth Russell totaled four kills.
Duncan Beilke totaled three kills and five block assists, while
Maxwell Thompson added an assist and a block assist.
