Philippi, W. Va – On Tuesday, the Golden Eagles took a road trip to the middle of the state to face the Alderson Broaddus Battlers for an out-of-conference matchup. Alderson Broaddus, coming into this one following a loss to Saint Francis University, looked to bounce back at home against an undefeated Charleston squad on the hottest streak in program history. 
 
The Basics
Location: Rex Pyles Arena
Score: UC 3, ABU 0
Records: UC (9-0, 0-0 MEC), ABU (2-6, 0-0 DI Independent) 
 
How it Happened
In the first set, the Golden Eagles took care of business in the early going. The squad would finish with 11 total kills on 15 attacks for an incredible .733 hitting percentage. Despite the Battlers taking the first point of the match, Charleston would take the lead with a Veit Bils kill that sparked a 9-2 run to give Charleston a 12-5 advantage. Alderson Broaddus struggled offensively as they would only find 7 kills on 24 total attacks. Their 8 errors would give them a -.042 hitting percentage and only stretch Charleston's lead even further. Every point the Battlers would find, the Golden Eagles would answer with two of their own, allowing for them to take the opening set 25-12. 
 
The Battlers would put up a much-improved fight in the second set, opening up with a 7-3 run over Charleston. The 4-point advantage would not last for long as the Golden Eagles would tie the game up with 4 consecutive points with two coming from Luuk Hoge Bavel and Bils who both contributed a kill each. Alderson Broaddus served the ball exceptionally well in the set knocking home 5 service aces, but they would be negated with their 6 service errors. The Battlers would go on to score 21 points in the second set, but Charleston would maintain their lead and take a 2-0 advantage taking the set 25-21. 
 
Once again, the first point of the set would be awarded to the Battlers, but Charleston would claw back to take a 5-4 lead early on. The game would be tied up at 5-5 after a questionable interference call, but the Golden Eagles remained unfazed. The team would go on to hit .444 with 10 kills on 18 total attacks with two service aces coming from Felipe Mendes and Dennis Morgan. The margin stayed airtight between the two teams for a good duration of the set, but Charleston would find 8 consecutive points, with many of them coming from Veit Bils at the net who appeared to block anything that came in his sight. It would be Felipe Mendes finding the kill to put the game to rest giving Charleston their 9^th consecutive three-set sweep on the year with a final set score of 25-16.
 
Charleston's biggest statistic of the night had to be their ability to block at the net. The Battlers couldn't find a single block all night, while the Golden Eagles sent back 12 to Alderson Broaddus with six of them coming from Veit Bils. Leading the way offensively for Charleston was Luuk Hoge Bavel (10 kills) and Felipe Mendes (8 kills) accompanied by Paul Stommel who finished with 26 total assists. Defensively, Joonatan Salpakari was flipping pancakes on the court as he led the team with 11 total digs on the night. 
 
Up Next
Charleston will finish the week with a doubleheader on Thursday, February 9^th as they take on Wittenberg University at 4 PM and University of Rio Grande (OH) at 8 PM.