Charleston, W.Va. – Charleston men's volleyball battled through four sets Friday night inside the Wehrle Innovation Center, but the Golden Eagles fell short in a 3-1 loss to McKendree.

The Basics:
Location: Wehrle Innovation Center – Charleston, W.Va.
Score: McKendree 3, Charleston 1 (25–19, 25–23, 27–29, 25–23)
Records: Charleston 1–1 (0–0 EIVA), McKendree 1–2 (0–0 MIVA)

How it Happened:
Set one started off neck and neck, tied up at every point until 11-11. Then the Bearcats picked up momentum scoring five unmatched points over the Eagles, giving them a 16-11 advantage mid set. They held their lead and pushed ahead 20-14, and that run gave McKendree the edge they needed to close out set one, 25-19.

Set two was even closer, with both teams battling early to build momentum. Lucas Torres, who led the Eagles in kills for the night, picked up a kill in set two to give Charleston 10 points just behind McKendree's 11. The middle of the set decided who won, as the Bearcats found critical digs to hold off massive attacks from the Eagles. UC trailed 16-20, and the final points went back and forth with both teams trading scores until McKendree finished the set 25-23 to take a 2-0 lead.

Going into the third set, the Golden Eagles knew they needed to build momentum if they were going to pull off a reverse sweep at home. Both teams raised their energy and attention to detail, and the set stayed close early with the score tied 9-9. The back-and-forth battle continued and was tied again at 19-19. With one team fighting to stay alive and the other trying to close the door, the set extended late as it tied at 24-24, then again at 26-26. Charleston made a final push to score the last three points and win set three, 29-27, capped by a final kill from Torres.

With Charleston trailing 2-1, both teams settled in for the final set. McKendree reached double digits first while UC trailed by three points, then the Bearcats used a mid-set run to push ahead to 20. Charleston answered back with a run of its own to cut the deficit to 20-16, but the Golden Eagles left too much of a lead late and fell short of keeping the match alive, dropping the fourth set 25-23.

Offensively, Lucas Torres led Charleston with 16 kills and four aces, while Kai Cousins added nine kills. Braxton Francis finished with six kills and Conrad Spidsø contributed seven. Setter Yotam Briger paced the offense with 37 assists.

Defensively, Yotam Briger anchored the back row with 13 digs, while Mikolaj Daszkiewicz added 10. Pavlin Ivanov recorded four block assists, and Lucas Torres contributed six digs in the match.
 

Up Next:
The Golden Eagles move to Day 2 of the UC Invitational and face off against Daemen University at 5:00 p.m.!