Nationally-ranked Juniata was just too much for the EMU volleyball men Friday night, as the Royals dropped a straight sets decision to the Eagles in Huntingdon, Pa.

Eastern Mennonite scored the first point in game one, but quickly fell behind 8-2.  Juniata never let up en route to a 25-17 win.  The Royals played with their hosts in set two, trailing just 16-14.  But a 5-0 run gave JC some breathing room and they won 25-17.

Another early run by the Eagles nearly knocked EMU out.  But the men quickly chipped back into the lead, and trailed just 21-18 before Juniata rattled off the final points of a 25-18 clincher.

The Royals struggled to get around JC's blockers and hit just .062 as a team.  The men also failed to land a service ace while giving up 10 aces to the Eagles.

Quentin Moore (Richmond, Va./Highland Springs) led EMU with 11 kills, while Jesse Reist (Lancaster, Pa./J.P. McCaskey) had nine.  Matt Dolan (Chester, Va./Thomas Dale) hefted up 20 set assists, while Kyle Storc (Columbus, Oh./Bishop Watterson) had three blocks.

Eastern Mennonite (4-5) continues CVC play on Saturday, playing at Thiel College in Greenville, Pa., at 11:00am.  They'll follow that with a non-conference match against Mount St. Joseph at 1:00pm.