HIRAM, Ohio (Feb. 19) – The Saint Vincent men's volleyball team went 1-1 in an Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference tri match on Saturday, opening the evening with a marathon 3-2 win over Hilbert before falling in three sets to host Hiram.

SAINT VINCENT 3, HILBERT 2
All five sets of SVC's first match of the evening were closely contested. SVC took a 2-0 lead with 25-22 and 26-24 wins in the first two sets, before Hilbert came back to take sets three and four by scores of 29-27 and 28-26, respectively. The Bearcats would then close out the win with a 15-13 triumph in the decisive fifth set, earning head coach Kate McCauley her first career victory.

Matthew Minkin had a monster game to lead the Bearcats, as he racked up 22 kills and 11 digs. Rookie Andrew Cassidy was a second Bearcat to record a double-double, finishing with 16 kills and 10 digs, while Ethan Kammerer put down 11 kills, while adding nine digs and two solo blocks.

Mark Stephenson paced the SVC defense with a career-high 20 digs, while Joshua Canty was a fourth Bearcat to reach double figures in the dig category, finishing with 10. Setter Matthew Furrer had a solid all-around match, dishing out 53 assists, serving seven aces, picking up nine digs and totaling three blocks.

As a team, the Bearcats served 11 aces to the Hawks' four, while the SVC defense totaled 82 digs and limited Hilbert to a .100 hitting percentage.

HIRAM 3, SAINT VINCENT 0
In the nightcap, the defending AMCC champion Terriers stormed out of the gates to earn a 25-11 win in the opening set, and carried the momentum to a 3-0 win, taking the second and third sets by scores of 25-16 and 25-17, respectively.

Minkin again led the Bearcats with eight kills while also adding a team-leading 12 digs. Cassidy chipped in with four kills, and Kammerer and Anthony Ditonto three apiece. Kammerer led the Bearcats with two blocks, while Furrer totaled 17 assists and Matthew Klasnic served two of his team's four aces.

Hiram posted a blistering .365 hitting percentage, committing just eight errors over the three sets. Conversely, the Terrier defense forced the Bearcats into 21 errors and a -0.27 hitting percentage. It marked Hiram's seventh straight win, improving their conference mark to 3-0.

Following the split, the Bearcats' AMCC record stands at 1-2 on the season. Saint Vincent is back in action on Wednesday, Feb. 23, when it opens a three-match homestand with a 7 p.m. bout against AMCC rival Mount Aloysius in the Robert S. Carey Student Center.