Box Score CHARLESTON, W.Va – The Golden Eagle Men's Volleyball team welcomed conference opponent Sacred Heart Big Red into the Wehrle Arena on Friday night. The matchup would showcase two squads looking to gain some traction in the EIVA standings.
THE BASICS
Location: H. Bernard Wehrle Arena
Score: UC- 3 SHU-1
Records: Charleston (5-4, 2-3 EIVA) Sacred Heart (4-5, 0-5 EIVA)
HOW IT HAPPENED
Charleston was eager to bounce back after dropping two matches to Princeton in a disappointing weekend in New Jersey last week. The Golden Eagles won just one set in of the 7 that were played while hitting just .112 in the Friday match.
The Golden Eagles would do their best to right the ship by taking the first set by a score of 25-22. The golden Eagles hit a remarkable .524% in the set with just two attack errors in 21 attempts. Jake Vorburger collected six kills in the set.
The second set would prove to be a tight affair with the Big Red taking a 12-9 lead a few points in, forcing a timeout by head coach Luke Reynolds. UC would respond well after the talk and take a lead at 15-14 before giving it away after four consecutive points by Sacred Heart. Luke Reynolds called his second timeout of the set to attempt to settle the boys down a bit. It would prove to be little help as the Big Red extended their lead with a lucky kill by Teddy Payne that UC couldn't track down close to the net. It was followed by a Golden Eagle error, a Patrick Mucherino and another kill by Mucherino. The Big Red would continue to put Charleston on their heels for the rest of the set as the Golden Eagles simply couldn't put together any kind of offense. Sacred Heart took the set 25-16.
Charleston looked to bounce back in the second set by making a big statement early. They would win a few key points to take a 11-6 advantage and had a chance to take an even larger lead if not for a few unforced errors. An unforced error by the Big Red would force head Bob Bertucci to call a time out to try and regroup. A questionable call by the line judge and head coach Luke Reynolds would have some choice words with the line judge, netting him a yellow card. The card would fire the fellas up and Charleston took the next three points in a row, to the delight of the Golden Eagle faithful. UC would use the momentum to finish with a 25-17 victory in set three.
The fourth set would prove to be the most exciting of the night as Charleston looked to take the match. No team would go up by more than two points at any time during the set. Charleston edged to a 20-18 advantage late in the set after an attack error by the Big Red. A failed block attempt Charleston gave Sacred Heart a much needed point and they would go on to tie it up at 20 just after a kill by Ife Loverton, and take the lead on a the next attack. Points were traded again with a big point coming from the right arm of Aussie Lachlan Bray, who powered over a big kill to knot it up at 22. He would give away a point on a service ace just a few points later to give the Big Red a 24-23 advantage, needing just one point to take the win. After going down 25-24 UC would bounce back and take the lead from a few errors by the Big Red. A kill by Arthur Seuer would take the UC lead to 27-26 before a Big Red attack error netted the Golden Eagles a 28-26 victory.
Up Next
Charleston returns tomorrow night against the Big Red once again at 1 p.m.
