LATROBE, Pa. (March 29)- The Saint Vincent men's volleyball team fell 3-1 at home to Hiram in a Presidents Athletic Conference matchup on Saturday afternoon.
The Bearcats (9-11, 4-6 PAC) fell in the opening set 25-14, before coming back to win the second set 27-25. Hiram (13-9, 6-4) went on to win the final two sets by scores of 28-26 and 25-16.
Shawn McSwiggen led the way with 16 kills and two service aces for the Bearcats.
Jackson Genicola added another double-double with 28 assists and 12 digs for SVC.
Zebadiah Wyant totaled nine kills and 10 digs in the win, while
Rocco Marino recorded five kills for Saint Vincent in the win as well.
It was all Hiram in the opening set. The Terriers quickly opened up to a 4-1 advantage and then increased that lead to 8-3 by the middle portions of the set. The Terriers continued to increase their lead on SVC, as the Bearcats trailed 18-8, before Hiram outscored the Bearcats 7-6 over the rest of the set to hand Saint Vincent the set loss (25-14), trailing 1-0 in the match.
In the second set, it was back-and-forth as the set was tied 15-15 and remained tied at 20-20. Neither team could pull away as the set was still tied at 23-23 and then 24-24 after trading points. After a Hiram point, Saint Vincent scored the next three points to win the set (27-25), ending the set with three straight Hiram errors to tie the match at 1-1.
The third set was very similar to set two as the teams traded points for the majority of the set. With neither team able to grow a lead, Hiram held a slight 21-18 advantage before three straight SVC points tied the set at 21-21 and remained tied at 25-25. Saint Vincent ascored on an attack error to take a 26-25 advantage, before three straight Hiram points won the set (28-26), giving the Terriers a 2-1 lead in the match.
Hiram cruised to the win in the fourth set as they never lost the lead, handing the Bearcats the set loss (25-16) and 3-1 defeat in the match.
The Terriers hit .102, while the Bearcats recorded a .224 hitting percentage in the match.
Saint Vincent returns to action on Wednesday, April 2 with a home PAC matchup against Thiel. The match is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. in the Robert S. Carey Center.
