At Penn State-Altoona (25-21, 23-25, 25-15, 25-16)
John's Commentary: "By the time our match with Juniata rolled around, we were ready to go home, because we hate road trips. All of our players (that were along for the trip) got to play, including Mike Witwer (who bears an eery resemblance to Pee Wee Herman) who hit infinity for the match. Juniata has a lot of guys who can hit hard, unfortunately they don't have (m)any that can hit the ball in the 30 ft. x 30 ft. region we volleyball players call a 'court'. After the match, the PS-Altoona gym was entertained by my bare ass coming from the shower, since I didn't have a towel, and PS-Altoona's down ref thought I had a nice can. We went to Pizza Hut then for dinner, and just when I thought Andy Yeager couldn't be any dumber, he proves me wrong again."
Coach's Commentary: "This was the second part of a tri-match at Penn State Altoona. This match also worried me, since the 'B' team had played Juniata tough in three matches during our Fall season - losing two 2-point games the first time, spiltting with them in 2-point games the next time, and sweeping them in the playoffs at Ship to end the pre-
season. Certainly, the 'A' team would have no problems...
We started a different line-up, took a big lead early and coasted home to take game one. We got blocked 4 times, committed 4 hitting errors, and missed 4 serves, to account for 12 of Juniata's 21 points. It was not a good sign. We changed line-ups again, and played some tough ball with Juniata up to 22-19. A missed serve, a block, and a hitting error, along with several thundering Juniata kills, put the game away for Juniata.
Again, I might have been able to "save" the game for us with substitutions, but this was a situation that the players on the court have to learn to face - getting am early lead and then holding off a furious rally by their opponent. We didn't get the job done (this time), but they'll be more prepared next time.
With the starters back onthe court in the third game, we put Juniata in a hole quickly, on the strength of 5 blocks and 2 aces, and some truly inspired defense - the first we had exhibited all day. Juniata's last four points came from three net serves, and a hitting error, but we still took the game 25-15.
The fourth game was a repeat of the third, except that 7 of Juniata's last 8 points came from our misuces (5 hitting or blocking errors, and 2 service errors), but this time we won 25-16. We did have one interesting play where Ryan was tip-toeing on the center line for what seemed like a minute, and was just about to fall over the Juniata court, when Mace, ever ready to contribute in anyway he can, ran up to pull Ryan back on our side.
One disturbing trend through the day was the incredible number of errors we committed when we held a big lead late in the game, and it was 'obvious' we were going to win. In the last two games against Juniata, we gave away the last four points. In games 1, 3, and 4 against PS-Altoona, we gave away at least three of the last four points. We need to learn to maintain our focus throughout the entire game, not just when it's tight. If we can develop that discipline of focus, it will serve to magnify our focus when the game is truly on the line.
These two matches put us at 5-0 in the West Division, and got us through our first long road trip of the season. I'm glad it's out of the way - 6 hours on the road for 3 hours on the court is simply too much."