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HUNTINGDON, PA -- Seventh-ranked Nazareth split its two matches on Saturday at the Juniata Tournament. The Golden Flyers fell to second-ranked Springfield in four sets by the scores of 25-22, 25-15, 23-25, and 25-16 before defeating host Juniata in four sets in their second match of the day. After falling behind 25-19 in set one, Nazareth downed Juniata 25-23, 25-22, 25-23 in three consecutive sets.

Following the weekend's action, the Golden Flyers stand at 13-5 overall. Springfield finished the weekend with a record of 14-5 overall and Juniata closed Saturday with an overall record of 11-6.

Against Juniata, Nazareth rallied from a hitting percentage of .094 in the first set to win the match. The Golden Flyers recorded hitting percentages of .219, .243, and .241 in the following three sets. Nazareth held the Eagles to hitting percentages of .077 and .152 in the second and third sets to take the lead in the match.

Senior Billy Gimello (Hauppauge/Hauppauge, N.Y.) and Ellis Walsh (Penfield/Penfield, N.Y.) each tallied 12 kills. Freshman Brody Cord (Del Oro/Loomis, CA) finished with 11 kills. Juniors Robert Kraft (Southern Regional/Waretown, N.J.) and Alex Houghtalen (Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake/Ballston Lake, N.Y.) added nine kills and eight kills, respectively, to the Golden Flyers' balanced attack. Walsh and Kraft each recorded four aces to help provide Nazareth with a 9-5 advantage in service aces. Junior EJ Wells-Spicer (Midlakes/Phelps, N.Y.) accumulated a match-high 47 assists and a team-high nine digs for the Golden Flyers.

Joe Bortak managed 12 kills against Nazareth's defense while John Almquist had 40 assists. Mike Kraft tallied 13 digs and four Eagles amassed at least six blocks as Juniata controlled the net and finished with a 32-14 advantage in total blocks. Bortak led the Eagles in total blocks with seven.

In Nazareth's first match on Saturday, the Golden Flyers met second-ranked Springfield for the first time since Nazareth defeated Springfield in last season's Molten national championship.
 
Despite the loss to the Pride, Walsh recorded a team-high 12 kills, followed by Gimello with 10 kills. In addition their kills, Walsh contributed one dig and two blocking assists, while Gimello added six digs. Wells-Spicer tallied a team-high 38 assists. Wells-Spicer also totaled two service aces and four digs. Cord and senior Dan Mowry each totaled seven digs.  
 
Springfield's Mike Pelletier had a match-high 15 kills, and Keaton Pieper recorded a match-high 41 assists.
 
Nazareth resumes its UVC schedule at the Kidera Gymnasium with a 7 p.m. match against Penn State Behrend.