Thursday night had some intriguing matches. The nightcap was the most telling, as #18 Concordia-Irvine picked up its first-ever MPSF win in a sweep over #19 Stanford. #7 Ohio State won its seventh straight match in a sweep of visiting Lindenwood. Finally, (RV) Charleston continued its winning ways for the fourth consecutive match with a four-set win over independent Alderson Broaddus.
#18 CUI def. #19 Stanford, 3-0 (25-17, 25-16, 25-23)
- CUI improves to 5-5, 1-1 MPSF; Stanford drops to 2-11, 0-2 MPSF
- Irvine, California
- CUI recap/Stanford recap
- Box score
Key Stats: With their blocking prowess at the net and the reigning MPSF Defensive Player of the Week as their libero behind them, CUI had no choice but to blow out Stanford in straight sets Thursday night (25-17, 25-16, 25-23). The Eagles outblocked the Cardinal, 12-3.
Stat Leaders: Many Eagles came to play on Thursday. Darcy Taig had 9 kills on 14 errorless swings, hitting .643 on the night. He added 5 digs and 2 blocks. Jonathan Predney also finished with 9 kills. Taylor Falduti tied his career-high with 9 blocks. Setter Chandler Gibb ran the Eagle offense to .297 with 28 assists. Libero Jacob Weiser finished with a match-high 10 digs.
For the Cardinal, the lone bright spot came on the attack, as Eric Beatty finished with 13 kills on .333 hitting. Evan Enriques, who started the match at outside hitter, finished as the libero and led the team in digs with 9. Setter Russell Dervay dished out 31 assists.
It Was Over When: It only seemed fitting that the match ended on a block. Although the first two sets were blowouts, the third went point for point until 23 all. With a Cardinal service error, one of their 17 on the night, CUI had their chance to convert match point. Feduti tied his career-high with a solo block on Cardinal setter Dervay, sealing their first-ever MPSF win.
#7 Ohio State def. Lindenwood, 3-0 (25-19, 25-20, 26-24)
- OSU improves to 10-2, 3-0 MIVA; Lindenwood drops to 6-6, 1-4 MIVA
- Columbus, Ohio
- Ohio State recap/Lindenwood recap
- Box score
Key Stats: Ohio State unleashed an assault of kills on Lindenwood Thursday night, leading the hosts to a straight-set victory over Lindenwood (25-19, 25-20, 26-24). OSU’s 44 kills on .385 hitting dwarfed the Lions’ effort, who had only 29 kills and hit .202 for the match.
Stat Leaders: With Nicolas Szerszen getting the night off, Reese Devilbiss earned the start and proceeded to lead all attackers with 14 kills on the night. His .500 attack percentage along with his 2 aces tied team-highs in both categories. Joining him in the double-digit kill party was Jake Hanes with 13 kills and Maxime Hervoir with 12. Hervoir also had the match’s lone double-double by scooping 11 digs on the night. Libero Aaron Samarin finished with a match-high 12 digs. Setter Sanil Thomas paced the attack with 35 assists.
Lindenwood did all it could to keep the match within reach. Although no Lions had double-digit kills, Sam Schindler proved to be most efficient with his 9 kills, hitting a whopping .615 against the Buckeyes. Schindler also recorded a career-high 6 aces on Thursday. He also had a hand in both of the Lions’ blocks. Setter Adam Brewster finished with 23 assists. Libero Ryan Vorderer led the Lion floor defense with 9 digs.
It Was All Over When: Down 17-21 in the third, Ohio State called time-out. From that point forward, OSU went on a 9-3 run to finish off the Lions. In that run included 6 Buckeye kills, 4 of which were from Jake Hanes.
(RV) Charleston def. Alderson Broaddus, 3-1 (25-18, 21-25, 27-25, 25-22)
- Charleston improves to 7-1; Alderson Broaddus drops to 2-7
- Charleston, West Virginia
- UC recap/AB recap
- Box score
Key Stats: This was an evenly-played match as you could have for a four-setter. UC won the kills battle in sets 1 and 3, while AB led in kills in sets 2 and 4. Additionally, UC won the statistical battle in blocks (10-7) and digs (42-41). In all, 23 players (12 from AB, 11 from UC) saw action in this match.
Stat Leaders: Max Senica led the Golden Eagles with 12 kills. Brandon Greenway pounded 6 of his 11 kills in the first set, yet was benched in the second set due to a “coach’s decision”. Setter Anthony Rivera dished out 46 assists on the night. Libero Darrin Depellegrini, in only 3 sets of play, finished with a team-high 12 digs. Eugene Stuart had a match-high 5 blocks.
Alderson Broaddus, an independent team, had multiple highlights for the upstart squad. Pin attackers Jose Ramirez and Francisco Cabrera both finished with a match-high 15 kills. Terrell Hightower, in only 2 sets of play, led AB with 4 blocks. Libero Timothy McIntosh scooped 14 digs to lead all floor defenders. Setter Moses Kresch, entering the match in set 2, finished with 33 assists. The .181 hitting percentage the Battlers produced nearly doubled their average on the season (.091 prior to the match).
It Was All Over When: At 21-all in what was largely an ugly fourth set (neither team hit over .170), UC went on a 4-1 run to seal the match. In that run, two UC kills and a block on match point finished the job.
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