PHILIPPI, W.Va. (Feb. 8) – The Saint Vincent men's volleyball team dropped a 3-0 decision at Division-II Alderson Broaddus University.
The Battlers took the three sets by scores of 25-14, 25-23 and 25-21.
Matthew Minkin recorded eight of SVC's 17 kills on the evening, while he also led both sides with four solo blocks. Ethan Kammerer and Zachary Mumpower each served two aces, while Matthew Furrer tallied five digs and dished 13 assists.
In the first set, the Bearcats used two Battler errors and an Anthony Ditonto kill to open up an early 3-1 lead. The Battlers responded to take the lead with four straight points, but SVC would eventually regain a 7-5 lead on an ace from Ditonto and an 8-6 advantage on a kill from Andrew Cassidy. The Battlers answered in a big way, rattling off a 12-5 run to open up an 18-11 lead. SVC scored two quick points to pull to within five, but Alderson Broaddus closed the set on a 7-1 run to win 25-14.
Alderson Broaddus kept the momentum to open up the second set, racing out to a 5-1 lead. The Bearcats would then chip away at the deficit, closing to within 5-3 after kills from Minkin and Ditonto before kills from Minkin and Furrer pulled SVC to within one, 9-8. The Battlers answered by twice taking three-point leads, but SVC came right back to tie it at 15-all after a Kammerer ace and an Alderson Broaddus error. The Bearcats would then take their first lead of the set, 19-18, on a Cassidy ace, and maintained the one-point advantage over the next several serves. Trailing 22-21, however, the Battlers scored four of the next five points to take the set, 25-23, and up their lead to 2-0 for the match.
As was the case in the second set, the Battlers raced out to a big lead in the third set, opening on a 5-0 run before eventually opening up a 7-1 advantage. The AB lead eventually grew to 11-4 before the Bearcats again battled back, taking advantage of four straight Battler errors to pull to within three, 11-8. SVC continued to cut into the deficit. A kill by Cassidy cut the gap to 16-13 and started a 7-1 run, with the Bearcats eventually taking a 20-17 lead on a Mumpower kill. The hosts then answered with a big run of their own, scoring five straight points to regain a 22-20 lead. After an AB error pulled SVC to within 22-21, the Battlers scored the next three points to win the set, 25-21, and the match, 3-0.
With their Feb. 10 match with Carlow University postponed, the Bearcats will now have a week-long respite before returning to action on Wednesday, Feb. 16, when they open up Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference play with a 7 p.m. match at Penn State-Altoona.
