LATROBE, Pa. (Feb. 28) – The Saint Vincent College men's volleyball team earned its third straight win with a three-set sweep over visiting Hiram College in an Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference matchup in the Robert S. Carey Center.
The Bearcats (9-6, 2-0 AMCC) won by set scores of 25-18, 25-21, and 25-21 to avenge a pair of non-conference losses to the Terriers (9-9, 1-1 AMCC) earlier this season.
Shawn McSwiggen continued his torrid season by leading all players with 17 kills, on a strong .361 hitting percentage.
Matthew Minkin added five kills and
Zach Wyant 12, along with two aces.
Defensively,
Zach Wyant led the Bearcats with 16 digs, and was joined in double figures by
Matthew Klasnic, who picked up 13. McSwiggen topped SVC with two blocks, while
Zach Wyant dished 23 assists.
As a team, Saint Vincent posted a .167 hitting percentage to Hiram's .084, while the Bearcats also owned a 55-47 advantage in digs.
After Hiram jumped out to a 3-1 lead early in the first set, the Bearcats forced five ties until they gained their first lead at 9-8 on a solo McSwiggen block. The play propelled the hosts to a 7-2 run, which included kills from McSwiggen and
Zebadiah Wyant along with another McSwiggen block, to open up a 15-10 lead. The margin continued to grow, reaching 17-11 after a pair of Hiram errors, before stretching to 20-12 on a
Zebadiah Wyant ace. Hiram got to within no closer than six points the rest of the way, with the Bearcats pulling away for the 25-18 set victory.
Set two followed a similar script to the opener, with Hiram taking an 8-6 lead. The Bearcats then scored three straight points, with kills from
Zach Wyant and McSwiggen, to take a 9-8 advantage, but the Terriers scored five of the next six points to open up a 13-10 advantage. SVC pulled to within one at 15-14 and 17-16, before using a 4-0 run, punctuated by a pair of
Zach Wyant aces, to gain a 22-19 lead. The Bearcats stayed hot down the stretch, with McSwiggen putting away kills on back-to-back serves to make it 24-20, before the set ended with a Hiram service error to give the Bearcats the 25-21 win.
Hiram led 3-1 and 5-3 to open the third set, but the Bearcats rallied back to take a 6-5 lead after a Minkin kill and
Zebadiah Wyant ace. The SVC lead promptly grew to 10-7 on a
Zach Wyant kill, before the Terriers scored four straight points to jump back in front, 11-10. Kills from Minkin and McSwiggen briefly put the Bearcats in the lead, 12-11, but the Terriers answered with a 6-3 run to open a 17-15 advantage. It would be the visitors' final lead of the night, as SVC answered with a 6-0 run, bookended by Minkin kills, to open up a 21-17 margin. Hiram cut the deficit to 22-20, but SVC scored three of the final four points of the night, with McSwiggen closing out the 25-21 victory and 3-0 sweep with his 17th kill of the match.
Saint Vincent will now have a week-long layoff over spring break, before returning to action on Friday, March 9, with a 6 p.m. matchup at AMCC foe Thiel College.
