Volleyball drops two after win versus Hiram
The men’s volleyball team has had a rather underwhelming start to their young season, currently posting a 2-4 overall record and losing two in a row. The Lions did start out the week on a good note, however, having taken a 3-1 match victory against the Hiram Terriers in the Terriers’ home opener on Friday. On Saturday, though, Behrend suffered consecutive defeats to the Wittenberg Tigers and St. John Fisher Cardinals in a doubleheader at Hiram.
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Against the Terriers, Behrend took home the win in four sets, winning the last three sets after a four-point loss in the first set. The Lions dominated the last two sets, despite having to score a few extra points in the second set, in which a 30-28 margin was required. Dillon Hildebrand, Josh Mathews and Jake Albert set career-highs on the evening with 19 kills, 12 digs and nine kills, respectively. Anthony Sprentz lived up to the potential he has at his position in recording a team best 38 assists on the night. Colin Dedert provided some solid relief off the bench with 9.5 total points on eight kills and three block assists. Joey Reynolds was additionally stout in providing Behrend with seven kills, four block assists, and two digs.
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Saturday was not a good day for Behrend, as they dropped two straight to the Wittenberg and St. John Fisher. Behrend dropped three close sets to Wittenberg by a combined 15 points and lost the match three sets to one. Each set was nip and tuck throughout with neither team gaining a clear advantage until the home stretch. Behrend was close to pulling out the first set, but allowed the final four points to get away to Wittenberg for the loss. The last three sets followed the same general pattern, with each team getting out to an early slim lead and hold on in the end. Behrend took the second set on a service ace by Danny Francis, but did not gain another set win in the match. Sprentz again delivered a multitude of assists for his team, this time with 41 in addition to five digs. Albert tallied 15 kills and Hildebrand totalled 18 kills on the night.
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Behrend looked to bounce back against the Cardinals that very same day, but were unable to do so. The teams traded sets en route to a Cardinals’ 3-2 match win. Behrend was able to capture the second set after a 7-3 run, only to have match point in their grasp and slip away after three Cardinals points in the third set. The Lions gutted out a two-point win in the fourth set after being down by as many as four. The fifth set saw another very close margin of victory, this time for St. John Fisher. The Lions again had match point in their hands with the score being 14-13. Then, a Matt Broderick kill and two Behrend attack errors gave the set and match to the Cardinals. Again, Sprentz impressed with 40 assists, eight digs and five kills. Hildebrand led the Lions with 23 kills and 25 overall points. Robert McMaster added 21 digs off the bench, while Reynolds had 14 overall points on eight kills and three digs.
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The Lions return to action at home this Saturday, February 3rd against Hiram at 1 p.m. After that, they will host the Behrend Tournament on February 10th and 11th and face Keuka, Sage and Wittenberg once again.
