LATROBE, Pa. (March 15)- The Saint Vincent men's volleyball team split a doubleheader on Saturday afternoon and evening in the Carey Center.

In Saint Vincent's first match of the day, the Bearcats (8-9, 3-4 PAC) earned a big Presidents Athletic Conference sweep against Grove City. They followed that up with a 3-1 loss to Division-II foe Roberts Wesleyan in their final match of the day.

Match 1- Saint Vincent 3, Grove City 0

The Bearcats won the match in straight sets by scores of 27-25, 25-21, and 25-14.

Shawn McSwiggen led the way for Saint Vincent once again with a match-high 16 kills. Zebadiah Wyant added 13 kills and eight digs, while Jackson Genicola totaled a match-high 3 assists in the win for the Bearcats. Rocco Marino added five kills and two blocks as well in the match.

The teams traded points for the majority of the opening set of the day. The score was tied 4-4 and remained tied at 13-13 and 16-16. Saint Vincent then went on a quick 5-0 run on kills from Nick Sikorski and McSwiggen mixed between three Wolverines attack errors to put the Bearcats up 21-16. SVC remained in the lead by five at 24-19, before the Wolverines stormed back to tie the set at 24-24 after a 5-0 run.

Saint Vincent went on to score three of the next four points, two of which came on kills from McSwiggen and one from Wyant to win the set (27-25), giving Saint Vincent a 1-0 lead in the match.

The Bearcats carried that momentum into the second set, scoring four of the first five points in the set, two of which came on kills from McSwiggen. The Bearcats increased their lead to four at 17-13. Grove City once again cut the lead to one at 21-20. Once again, SVC scored four of the final five points on four kills from Wyant, Marino, Genicola, and Tyler Nelson to win the set (25-21), taking a 2-0 lead in the match.

It was all Saint Vincent in the third set as they closed the win out. SVC quickly opened to a 4-1 lead and increased that lead to 15-9 and 19-10 by the middle portions of the set. SVC went on to take a 22-13 lead, before scoring three of the final four points with two kills from Wyant and one from Nelson to win the set (25-14) and the match 3-0.

Kills were 48-32 in favor of Saint Vincent as were assists (39-30) and digs (35-29).

Game 2- Roberts Wesleyan 3, Saint Vincent 1

Saint Vincent fell in the first two sets of the match both by scores of 25-23, before earning a 25-23 win in the third set. The Bearcats lost 34-32 in a marathon fourth set falling in the match 3-1.

McSwiggen recorded a double-double with 19 kills and 16 digs for Saint Vincent. Wyant also added 19 kills, while Nelson recorded six of his own. Marino totaled three blocks, Genicola recorded 44 assists, and Kolton Butina totaled 13 digs in the loss for the Bearcats.

It was back-and-forth for the majority of the opening set, before the Red Hawks pulled away late in the set. Saint Vincent trailed 24-19 before going on a 4-0 run to cut the lead to 24-23, but Roberts Wesleyan scored the final point to win the set (25-23), taking a 1-0 lead in the match.

In the second set, it was much of the same story. The teams played back-and-forth the whole way through the set, with neither team able to hold a comfortable lead in the set. Saint Vincent once again trailed 24-23, before a Red Hawks point won them the set (25-23), as the Bearcats found themselves trailing 2-0.

It was reveresed in the third set as the Bearcats had most of the control. SVC opened to an 11-5 lead and eventually increased that lead to 23-17 late in the set. The Red Hawks went on a 5-0 run and scored six of seven to cut the Saint Vincent lead to 24-23, before a kill from McSwiggen won the set (25-23) for the Bearcats, cutting the lead to 2-1 in the match.

It was a marathon final set which saw 66 total points scored. In the final set, the Red Hawks had set point nine times, but the Bearcats battled each time continuing to try to force the fifth set. SVC led 32-31 in the set, before Roberts Wesleyan scored the next three points in a row to win the set (34-32), handing Saint Vincent the 3-1 non-conference loss.

Saint Vincent led in kills 53-49, assists (48-47), and digs (78-68) over the course of the match. The Bearcats hit .138, while the Red Hawks hit .169.

The Bearcats retrun to action on Wednesday, March 19 with a PAC matchup on the road at Geneva. The match is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. in Beaver Falls, Pa.