CHARLESTON, W.Va. - In tonight's University of Charleston Men's Volleyball match against visiting Princeton University, to say that the Golden Eagles got off to a slow start would be an understatement.  Fortunately for the Golden Eagles they would pick things up.  After finding themselves down by 6 or seven at multiple points in the first set, the Eagles chipped away at Princeton's lead to make it a much closer game, but eventually lost 25 to 19.

That first set seemed to get the ball rolling for UC, as the Eagles took the lead right away in the second set and held onto it for what seemed like the entire match.  The Eagles had several chances to close out the set with a 24 to 20 lead.  Aggressive serving for Princeton would get them back in it though; and they eventually were able to overtake the Eagles and win set 2 27 to 25.

In the third set the University of Charleston once again got off to a slow start, forcing Coach Crane to take an early timeout.  While they fought and clawed to stay in the match, the visiting Tigers were able to close out the third and final set 25 to 15.

"We have got to learn how to win.  Yeah we have won a couple matches this year, but not against a team with skill and experience of Princeton.  Once we learn how to close out a set, we will be a dangerous team.  We are young, athletic and play with a ton of heart and passion, and once we are all on the same page, look out." Coach Crane said after the match.
Team leaders for tonight's match include Brian Cranston with 11 kills on 21 attempts with only 4 errors.  Ryan Santos with 9 kills on 28 attempts with 5 errors.  Santos was also able to contribute one assist and 4 digs.  Byron Hurd with 5 kills on 14 attempts with 3 errors and 1 ace, 4 digs and 2 blocks.  Anthony Rivera had a team high 21 assist, as well as a team high 7 digs; not to mention a kill on 1 attempt.  The Golden Eagles finished with a .131 hitting percentage, which is about .100 below their season average, but also finished with half as many errors as normal.

"All in all it was a pretty good night, not perfect, but pretty good.  The great news is we get to play them again tomorrow and hopefully we can watch some film and learn from our mistakes between now and then, tweak a few things and give everyone a better show that ends with a UC victory." said Coach Freer.

The Golden Eagles take the court again tomorrow at 2 pm against the Princeton University Tigers in an attempt to avenge their loss.  Make sure you come out to see them as they make history as the first team sport to host an Ivy League School, and if they play the way they have shown they can their first win over an Ivy League School.