LATROBE, Pa. (Mar. 14)- The Saint Vincent men's volleyball team breezed past Wells and Bethany, earning a sweep against Wells and 3-1 win against the Bison in a tri-match at SVC on Thursday evening.
 
The Bearcats 3-0 win against Wells was their fifth straight AMCC victory to open the season, while the non-conference 3-1 win against Bethany was SVC's fourth straight win to move the Bearcats to 14-7 overall on the season.
 
GAME ONE- Saint Vincent 3, Wells 0
Saint Vincent defeated Wells by set scores of 25-19, 25-9, and 25-20 to cruise to the three-set sweep.
 
Shawn McSwiggen led the way for the Bearcats with a game-high 12 kills. Zach Wyant recorded 28 assists and Matthew Minkin added a game-high nine digs, while also recording eight kills.
 
Zebadiah Wyant added 28 assists and Matthew Klasnic added five digs in the win as well for Saint Vincent.
 
SVC took the first advantage in the opening set as the Bearcats scored three of the first four points, two of which came on Wells errors and one on a Zeb Wyant kill. Wells answered, tying the set up at 8-8 and the set remained tied at 12-12 and 13-13.
 
SVC answered with a quick 5-0 run, two of which came on kills from Zach Wyant to give Saint Vincent an 18-13 lead. The Bearcats controlled the rest of the set as the team's traded points with Saint Vincent outscoring Wells 7-6 over the remaining points to earn the set one win (25-19).
 
In set two, Wells took the first advantage, scoring three of the first four points.  The Bearcats answered with a 14-3 run, including scoring eight straight points with Steven Laun serving to push their lead to 15-6.
 
Wells and Saint Vincent traded the next couple of points, before the Bearcats scored the final seven points, ending the set on a service ace from Zachary Mumpower to win the second set (25-9), giving Saint Vincent a 2-0 lead in the match.
 
The first several points of the third set were traded back-and-forth as the set was tied 14-14 and then 15-15. SVC scored five of the next six point, including three in a row on a kill by Mumpower, error by the Express, and service ace from Zach Wyant to give the Bearcats a 20-16 lead.
 
Wells cut the lead to three at 23-20 but Saint Vincent ended the match on a kill from McSwiggen and attack error by the Express as the Bearcats won the third set (25-20) and the match 3-0.
 
Saint Vincent totaled 39 kills, nine service aces, five blocks, 37 assists, and 34 digs over the course of the match. Wells on the other hand, totaled 26 kills, five service aces, two blocks, 25 assists, and 22 digs.
 
GAME TWO- Saint Vincent 3, Bethany 1
In the final match of the day, SVC won the first set 25-10, before falling in the second set 26-24, and winning the final two sets by scores of 25-11 and 25-18.
 
Matthew Minkin led the way for Saint Vincent in their second match of the day, recording a team-high seven kills. Zach Wyant once again recorded double-digit assists with 19 and Stephen Laun added 12 digs.
 
Wyant also recorded 11 digs and Tyler Nelson totaled six kills, while Shawn McSwiggen added three blocks.
 
It was all SVC in the opening set, as the Bearcats led 9-3 after the first several points, including scoring four in a row to get to that 9-3 lead. Saint Vincent continued to control the pace the rest of the way, outscoring the Bison 16-7 the rest of the waym ending the set with three straight points to win the set (25-10), taking a 1-0 lead.
 
The Bearcats final three points of the opening set were scored on kills by Josh Havrilla and Nelson, before ending the set with a Bethany error.
 
In the second set, the Bearcats once again held the early lead as Saint Vincent led 10-6. The teams traded the next few points as SVC still held a four-point, 15-11 lead and then a 19-15 lead. Bethany began their comeback at that point as the Bison closed the set out on an 11-5 run, including scoring the final five points of the set to win the second set (26-24), tying the match up 1-1.
 
Saint Vincent dominated the third set after dropping the second set. The Bearcats scored six of the first eight points and never looked back. SVC increased their lead to 16-10, before closing the set out on a 9-1 run to win the third set (25-11), going up 2-1 in the match.
 
In the fourth set, Saint Vincent once again controlled the pace of play. The Bearcats opened up to a 7-3 lead and increased their lead to 21-17 after the next several points. SVC closed the set out scoring the final four points, one coming on a kill from McSwiggen, one on a service ace from Minkin, and two errors by the Bison as Saint Vincent won the fourth set (25-18) and the match 3-1.
 
The Bearcats get back to AMCC play on Wednesday, March 20, traveling to Penn State-Altoona for a match. The match is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. in Altoona on Wednesday.