Fort Wayne, Ind. – After suffering just their second loss of the season, the Golden Eagles finished their trip out west with a matchup against Purdue Fort Wayne in the Gates Sports Center. The Mastodons were back at home after a tough Hawaiian trip in the Outrigger Volleyball Invitational, dropping nine sets to Hawaii, UCLA, and Penn State, the top three teams in men's collegiate volleyball. 
 
The Basics
Location: Gates Sports Center
Score: UC 3, PFW 0
Records: UC (18-2, 3-1 EIVA), PFW (12-9, 3-4 MIVA) 
 
How it Happened
The first set would entail extra rallies ending with a first set victory for Charleston by a score of 30-28. Both sides would end the set with a 19 kills apiece, but the Golden Eagles would lead the way with a .567 hitting percentage compared to the Mastodons' .308; however, the numbers in the box score do not do justice to how well Fort Wayne played in the first set. They would take an 8-3 lead over Charleston to open up play, but through thick and thin the Golden Eagles would rally back to even strength at 15-15. They would take their first lead at 18-17 after an attack error from Carlos Mercado. Charleston would work their way to the first set point with a 24-21 advantage, but Fort Wayne would force extra rallies with three unanswered points led by Mark Frazier with kills. After nine points, Tony Harris would end the first set drama with two consecutive kills both assisted by Diego Villafane to move to 1-0 in set play. 
 
Despite the opening kill from Fort Wayne in the second set, Charleston would take a 3-1 advantage in the early going. After eight rallies, Fort Wayne tied the game at 6-6 after a Mark Frazier service ace. Charleston would begin to find rhythm and go on an 11-5 run to take a 17-11 lead in the second set. Fort Wayne would chip away at the deficit for the remainder of the set, but the deficit was too large to overcome as Will Kimenhour's kill would end the second set giving Charleston the 25-21 advantage. While the Golden Eagles would convert on a third of their attacks in the set, the Mastodons would struggle offensively with five errors on a .182 hitting percentage. 
 
The final set of the match would end in a thriller for Charleston. The Mastodons would hold the lead for majority of the third set as they were led by Jon Diedrich on the offensive attack. With the game at 6-6, Fort Wayne would fight their way to a 16-12 lead over Charleston. After a number of rallies, it looked as if the Mastodons were going to force a fourth set; that was until Charleston would go on an 8-2 run late in the game to take the lead and the eventual win. A block from Veit Bils and Diego Villafane would seal the deal for the Golden Eagles as Charleston would leave Indiana with a 3-0 win over Purdue Fort Wayne. Leading the way offensively for Charleston in the win was Garret Schnitker who finished with 14 kills followed by Will Kimenhour with 9. Villafane would add two service aces to the stat column accompanied with his 38 assists on the day. 
 
Up Next
The Golden Eagles will be back in the Wehrle Innovation Center tomorrow night as they take on the Battlers of Alderson Broaddus University on March 21^st with the first serve set for 5:00 PM.