CRESSON, Pa. (March 23) – The Saint Vincent men's volleyball team picked up its third win in the past five matches with a 3-1 decision over Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference foe Mount Aloysius.
After falling 25-22 in the opening set, the Bearcats roared back to claim the final three by scores of 25-19, 25-21 and 25-20.
In the first set, the Bearcats jumped out to an early 3-0 lead, spurred by a kill and a service ace by Matthew Minkin, before the Mounties answered right back to tie it with three straight points, SVC regained a three-point lead, 6-3 after a kill from Andrew Cassidy and a pair of Mountie errors, but the hosts charged back with an 11-2 run to open up a 14-9 lead. Saint Vincent's deficit would hover between three and five points over the next several serves, before they rallied to twice pull to within two, 22-20 and 24-22. They could not complete the comeback, however, as the Mounties closed out the 25-22 win.
The teams traded points throughout the opening stages of a tight second set, with five lead changes and seven ties early on. A kill from Ethan Kammerer pushed SVC in front 10-8 and ignited the Bearcats, who would eventually open up a 16-10 lead on another Minkin kill. Moments later, a pair of Mountie errors stretched SVC's lead to 19-12, but the hosts stormed back, eventually pulling to within 21-18. The Bearcats shrugged off the Mount Aloysius run, scoring four of the final five points and clinching the 25-19 win on a Cassidy kill.
Mount Aloysius took a 3-2 lead to open the third set, but the Bearcats scored five straight points, capped off by a Mark Stephenson service ace, to go up 7-2. The lead would remain between three and five points over the next few serves, but after a Minkin kill put the Bearcats up 12-7, Mount Aloysius answered right back with seven of the next eight points to go up 14-13. The Bearcats countered with four straight points of their own, with another Stephenson ace giving SVC a 17-14 lead, but the Mounties refused to go away, eventually making it a one-point game, 21-20. As was the case in the second set, the Bearcats finished strong, scoring four of the final five points of the set, with an Anthony Ditonto kill closing out the 25-21 set win.
The fourth set saw Mount Aloysius open up early leads of 4-0 and 8-3, but SVC countered with a 6-1 run to tie it at 9-all on a Kammerer ace. After the Mounties responded to take a 14-10 lead, SVC came right back with another lengthy run to take its first lead of the set, 15-14. Minkin was responsible for four of the five points during the surge, with an ace and three kills. Following the 5-0 run, the Bearcats continued to add onto their lead, which eventually stretched to six points, 21-15, on a Stephenson ace. The Mounties tried to mount one last rally, closing the gap to 22-18, but would get no closer, as Minkin put down the final two kills of the night to seal the set, 25-20, and the match, 3-1.
Minkin and Cassidy led the SVC offense, with the former putting down 17 kills and the latter 13, while Kammerer totaled nine kills and a match-leading six blocks. Minkin added a team-best 12 digs for the double-double, while Connor McCune totaled 10 digs. Stephenson led both sides with four aces, while teammate Matthew Furrer handed out a match-leading 43 assists.
The Bearcats will be back in action on Saturday, March 26, traveling to Erie for an AMCC tri match. SVC will open by facing host Penn State-Behrend at noon, before taking on Thiel immediately after.
