Charleston, W.Va. — The University of Charleston men's volleyball team earned a dominant straight-set victory over North Greenville University, 3-0, Monday night inside the Wehrle Innovation Center in game one of a two-match series.
The Basics:
Location: Charleston, W.Va. (Wehrle Innovation Center)
Score: Charleston 3, North Greenville 0 (25-14, 25-16, 25-18)
Records: Charleston (10-8, 3-3 EIVA), North Greenville (7-6, 4-3 Conference Carolinas)
How It Happened:
Charleston came out aggressive in the opening set and recorded three early kills to establish momentum, using a four-point run highlighted by a solo block from Xander Bomert to take a 10-3 lead. UC maintained control throughout the set, extending the advantage to seven points at 20-13 before closing on a 4-0 run, where a block created set point and a service ace from Zadeberny secured the 25-14 win.
Charleston carried that momentum into set two, opening with a 5-0 run to build a 13-4 lead behind kills from Bomert, Joonatan Salpakari, and Max Nissen along with a North Greenville attack error. UC later stretched the lead to 20-11, and although North Greenville responded with a brief 3-0 run, Charleston answered quickly as a service ace from Pavlin Ivanov set up set point before a kill from Marco Kost sealed the 25-16 win.
The third set proved to be the most competitive, with Charleston leading 15-9 before North Greenville cut the deficit to 15-12 and later to 20-17, but UC closed strong with a 4-0 run fueled by a kill from Samuel Alo, a service ace from Zadeberny, a block from Ivanov and Alo, and a North Greenville error to reach match point. Ivanov finished the match with a kill to secure the 25-18 set win and complete the 3-0 sweep.
Offensively
Charleston hit .475 as a team with 44 kills, led by Max Nissen (11 kills), Pavlin Ivanov (9 kills), and Joonatan Salpakari (9 kills), while Yotam Briger recorded 35 assists.
Defensively
The Golden Eagles totaled 11 blocks and 34 digs, with Ivanov leading with four blocks, while Bomert and Alo added two blocks each. Salpakari and Daszkiewicz each posted six digs, and Zadeberny contributed two service aces.
Up Next:
Charleston will face North Greenville again on March 17 at 7:00 p.m. in the Wehrle Innovation Center.
