Grand Canyon Bests Concordia Irvine in 4; OSU, GMU, Barton Sweep

No. 13 Grand Canyon held on for a four-set home win over No. 15 Concordia Irvine with a strong block and efficient hitting to highlight Friday night action. Other winners were No. 8 Ohio State, No. 16 George Mason, No. 18 McKendree, Barton (RV) and Harvard.

#13 Grand Canyon def. #15 Concordia Irvine 3-1 (25-19, 25-21, 21-25, 25-21)

• Grand Canyon moves to 16-8, 3-6 MPSF; Concordia falls to 10-13, 3-5 MPSF
• Phoenix, Arizona
• Box Score
• GCU Recap / Concordia Recap

Key Stats: Grand Canyon hit .310 and put up 15.5 blocks in a four-set win over Concordia Irvine. The Lopes outdid the Eagles in kills (59-45), hitting efficiency (.310 to .231) and blocks (15.5 to 12.5). Both teams served up four aces. GCU hit .312 or better in the sets they won, but managed just a .065 effort in Set 3. After starting the match on a .125 clip, Concordia Irvine hit .240 or better the rest of the way.

Stat Leaders: Four Lopes turned in double-digit kill efforts, led by senior outside Cody Williams, who notched 16 kills, seven blocks, seven digs and three aces. Redshirt senior middle Ashton King (13), redshirt senior outside Cullen Mosher (11) and sophomore middle Caleb Blazer (10) rounded out the group, while junior outside Will Schwob added eight putaways and a team-high 14 digs. King hit at an eye-popping .857 clip (13-1-14) and put up five blocks, while Blazer hit .714 (10-0-14) and racked up a team-high seven blocks.

Redshirt sophomore outside Raymond Barsemian (15) and senior outside Jonathan Predney (12) paced the Eagles offensively. Junior middle Hunter Howell and senior middle Taylor Falduti chipped in six putdowns apiece. Howell also put up a team-best six blocks, while Barsemian posted five stuffs. Barsemian, Predney, Falduti and redshirt junior setter Isaiah Kaaa each served up an ace.

It Was Over When: The teams split the first 20 points of Set 4, before Williams notched two kills to lift the Lopes to a 13-10 advantage. Concordia countered with a 5-1 run of its own, including a kill and an ace by Barsemian, to grab a 15-14 lead. Down 18-17, GCU scored four straight, including two Eagle hitting errors and a stuff by Blazer, Williams and Puna Kaniho. Two Blazer putaways and a Williams ace pushed the Lopes ahead 24-20. A Blazer kill clinched the match at 25-21 two points later.

#8 Ohio State def. Quincy 3-0 (25-16, 25-9, 25-23)

• Ohio State moves to 16-4, 7-2 MIVA; Quincy falls to 12-14, 0-9 MIVA
• Quincy, Illinois
• Box Score
• Ohio State Recap / Quincy Recap

Key Stats: Ohio State dominated Quincy in all facets of the game in a quick sweep. The Buckeyes outhit the Hawks .431 to .076 and nearly doubled up on them in kills (39-20). OSU also bested Quincy in aces (10-2) and blocks (9-3). The Buckeyes hit .478 in the opening stanza and .647 in the second.

Stat Leaders: Senior outside Nicolas Szerszen (11), senior outside Maxime Hervoir (9) and redshirt junior middle Blake Leeson (8) paced the Buckeyes offensively, each hitting .300 or better. Szerszen hit at a .667 clip (11-15), while notching five digs and three aces. Hervoir put up a team-high three blocks alongside redshirt freshman opposite Jake Hanes. Junior setter Sanil Thomas served up three aces to go with 32 assists and seven digs.

Senior outside Anthony Winter and senior middle Shane McAdams posted seven kills apiece to lead Quincy. McAdams hit at a .667 clip (7-1-9), while Winter managed just a .080 effort. Junior Noah Randall and sophomore middle Blake Sprecher put up a solo block apiece, while Randall and senior libero Collin Merk pulled up five digs each.

It Was Over When: Ohio State raced out to a 9-4 lead in Set  3 with Szerszen accounting for two aces and a kill and Hervoir adding a kill and a block. Quincy rallied to tie it up at 14-all as the Buckeyes committed four errors and Winter notched three kills and an ace. The teams traded points over the next 12 serves leading to a knot-up at 20. OSU pulled away with two Hervoir putaways and a solo stuff by Laffin, which made it 24-21. A service error and hitting miscues kept the set going, before Szerszen closed out the night.

#16 George Mason def. Charleston 3-0 (25-18, 28-26 25-18)

• George Mason moves to 11-10, 7-0 EIVA; Charleston falls to 11-7, 3-6 EIVA
• Charleston, West Virginia
• Box Score
• George Mason Recap / Charleston Recap

Key Stats: A .385 to .134 lead in hitting efficiency was enough to lift the Patriots to a sweep. George Mason also bested Charleston in kills (42-30), aces (3-1) and blocks (10-6).

Stat Leaders: Sophomore outside Hayden Wagner and junior outside Kyle Barnes guided the GMU offense with 13 and 10 respectively, each hitting .333 or better. Redshirt senior outside Christian Malias chipped in eight, while redshirt freshman middle Jack Reese added five on a team-high .714 clip (5-0-7). Sophomore middle Bryce Gatling put up six blocks and four kills, while senior right side Brian Negron added eight digs, four blocks, 34 assists and two aces.

Senior outside Ryan Santos was the lone Golden Eagle in double digits with 13 kills on a team-high .611 hitting effort (13-2-18). Junior outside Brandon Greenway followed with nine kills, while freshman outside Max Senica chipped in four kills, two blocks and the team’s lone ace, but hit -.150.

It Was Over When: Down 4-3 early in Set 3, George Mason put together a 7-2 run as four players notched kills and Gatling and Negron teamed up for a block. Charleston cut the margin to two three times, last at 12-10, before the Patriots surged ahead by six at 19-13 with two kills by Malias and two Eagle miscues. Charleston scored five of the next eight with help from three GMU errors, but that only had the Eagles within four at 22-18. The Patriots wrapped up the match at 25-18 with a 3-0 run, including a kill and a block by Gatling.

#18 McKendree def. Princeton 3-1 (25-17, 25-20, 23-25, 26-24)

• McKendree moves to 10-11, Princeton falls to 8-12
• Lebanon, Illinois
• Box Score
• McKendree Recap / Princeton Recap

Key Stats: McKendree evened the weekend score, rebounding from Thursday night’s loss to Princeton with a four-set victory. The Bearcats outserved the Tigers 7-3 and boasted a 56-42 lead in kills and .242 to .160 edge in hitting efficiency. Princeton boasted a 9-8 edge at the net. McKendree hit .265 or better in the first three sets, but hung on to win Set 4 despite hitting just .081. Princeton hit -.061 with eight errors to go with just six kills in the finale.

Stat Leaders: Senior outside Jared Wilcox (16), redshirt senior middle Brendan Schmidt (15) and redshirt freshman middle Wyatt Dimke (10) posted double-digit kill tallies, while Nolan Rueter chipped in nine putaways for McKendree. Dimke hit at a team-high .750 clip (10-1-12), while Schmidt (.545) and (.467) followed. Schmidt also chipped in a team-leading four blocks, while Rueter and senior setter Pasquale Fiduccia added three stuffs apiece. Rueter also managed 14 digs and two aces, while freshman outside Patrick Ross posted 10 digs, six kills and three aces.

Sophomore middle George Huhmann put down a match-high 18 kills and added a team-best eight digs and four blocks for the Tigers, while hitting at a team-high .238 clip. Sophomore outside Greg Luck added 10 kills and eight digs and sophomore outside Parker Dixon followed with nine putaways. Senior middle Junior Oboh served up three aces and notched three blocks and five kills.

It Was Over When: McKendree jumped out to an 8-2 lead in Set 4 with help from two kills and an ace by Rueter and a solo stuff by Schmidt. Princeton slowed the Bearcats with back-to-back points, but couldn’t stop the 4-1 McKendree run that followed. Kills by Schmidt, Rueter and Wilcox gave the Bearcats the 12-5 edge. The teams traded points over the next 20 serves leading to a 22-15 score. McKendree earned its first set point try at 24-18, but Princeton thwarted six attempts to tie it up at 24. Two Oboh aces and three Bearcat miscues helped the Tigers extend the match. In the end, a service error and hitting error gave McKendree the win.

Barton (RV) def. North Greenville 3-0 (25-20, 25-18, 25-22)

• Barton moves to 16-6, 12-0 Conference Carolinas; North Greenville falls to 11-12, 5-6 Conference Carolinas
• Wilson, North Carolinas
• Box Score
• Barton Recap / NGU Recap

Key Stats: Barton won its 11th straight match, thanks to a .374 hitting effort against North Greenville. The Bulldogs hit .286 or better in all three sets, including a .500 effort in Set 2 and a near .400 effort (.382) in Set 3, while holding the Crusaders to a .262 clip. Barton boasted a 44-34 edge in kills and bested NGU 3-2 in blocks. North Greenville won the serve 5-4 in aces.

Stat Leaders: Sophomore right side Angelos Mandilaris dropped 18 kills while hitting .469 for the Bulldogs. Junior outside Aleksa Brkovic followed with nine kills, seven digs and a team-high two blocks, while junior outside Vasilis Mandilaris chipped in seven putaways and six digs. Junior middle Nick Leary served up two of the team’s four aces, while also adding three kills.

Four NGU players put down six or more kills, led by junior opposite Aaron Campbell‘s 10. Senior middle Matthew McManaway (8), sophomore outside Jackson Gilbert (6) and sophomore middle Ben Hamsho (6) followed. Hamsho hit at a team-high .385 clip and was one of five Crusaders with an ace and one of four with a block assist.

It Was Over When: After a tie at 4-all, Barton broke off a 6-1 run, including three NGU miscues and an ace by Leary. Trailing 10-5, the Crusaders narrowed the gap to two at 13-11 and eventually tied the score at 17. Four Bulldog errors, kills by four players and aces by Hamsho and Campbell aided the 12-7 rally. Two putdowns each by Brkovic and Angelos Mandilaris set the table for the final point by Barton at 24-22. Michael Perez issued the final blow.

Harvard def. Sacred Heart 3-1 (24-26, 25-22, 25-17, 25-21)

• Harvard moves to 6-11, 6-2 EIVA; Sacred Heart falls to 3-11, 0-8 EIVA
• Cambridge, Massachusetts
• Box Score
• Harvard Recap / Sacred Heart Recap

Key Stats: Harvard racked up 14 more kills and outhit Sacred Heart .331 to .195 in a four-set win. The Crimson hit .325 or better in three of the four stanzas, including a .406 effort in Set 4. Harvard boasted the advantage in kill (59-45) and aces (5-3), while the Pioneers led 9.5 to 8.5 in blocks.

Stat Leaders: Senior middle Brad Gretsch posted a match-high 17 kills to lead the Harvard offense, while hitting at a .500 clip and adding eight digs, four blocks and an ace. Sophomore Matthew Ctvrlik added 10 kills, while senior Marko Kostich (9), sophomore outside Erik Johnsson (9) and senior middle Riley Moore (8) followed. Moore hit at a team-high .727 clip (8-0-11), while Kostich served up three aces. Junior middle Trevor Dow notched six kills and a team-leading five blocks.

Redshirt junior right side Emerson Waumans was tops for Sacred Heart with 14 kills, eight digs and five blocks. Freshman outside Jakob Karlsson (10), redshirt junior middle Taylor Bloomquist (7) and junior outside Blake Cox (7) rounded out the offense. Bloomquist hit .357 and put up five blocks, while Karlsson served up all three of the team’s aces.

It Was Over When: SHU took the early 4-2 lead in Set 4, but Harvard quickly tied things up at 4, 5 and 6 before surging ahead 12-8. Moore notched three kills and Ctvrlik added two in the 10-4 run. The Pioneers would get no closer than two the rest of the way. Up 14-11, the Crimson pulled away with an 8-4 rally, including a block and a kill by Gretsch. Sacred Heart did not go away though, scoring six of the next seven to slice the margin to two at 23-21. Two Karlsson aces and two Waumans kills aided the Pioneers. In the end, Gretsch supplied a kill and a block to wrap up the 25-21 win and the match.