No. 19 Concordia-Irvine rallied from down 2-0 to score a five-set home win over No. 17 UC San Diego, while No. 5 Loyola and Charleston (WV) also picked up five set victories at home.
No. 20 George Mason and No. 8 Lewis also held home court, winning via sweep.
#20 George Mason def. Barton 3-0 (29-27, 25-11, 25-22)
- GMU moves to 4-6; Barton falls to 5-6
- Fairfax, Virginia
- Box Score
- Barton Recap / George Mason Recap
Key Stats: George Mason dominated the net offensively and defensively, posting a .421 hitting effort and 10.5 blocks in the sweep. GMU hit .333 or better in all sets, including .588 in a crushing 25-11 Set 2 win.
The Patriots outdid Barton .421 to .185 in efficiency, 43-29 in kills, 10.5 to 6 in blocks and 9-2 in aces.
Stat Leaders: Sophomore opposite Hayden Wagner led all hitters with 16 kills to pace GMU. Wagner hit at a .565 clip, served up three aces and added three stuffs. Redshirt junior middle Langston Payne chipped in nine kills and a team-best five blocks, while hitting at a .615 clip. Junior outside Kyle Barnes notched seven kills, four digs and three blocks.
Sophomore right side Angelos Mandilaris downed 10 kills and notched two aces and three blocks to lead the Bulldogs. Junior outsides Aleksa Brkovic (7) and Vasilis Mandilaris (5) and junior middle Nick Leary (5) followed offensively. Leary also added three blocks.
It Was Over When: George Mason built a five-point lead early in Set 3 at 9-4 and held the advantage at 13-8, before Barton scored four in a row, with two Angelos Mandilaris kills and one from Leary to cut the margin to one at 13-12. The Bulldogs tied it up at 16 and the teams traded points over the next 12 points, leading to a 22-all tie. The Patriots ended the set on a 3-0 run, capped by a Jack Reese kill and Luis Velez ace.
Charleston (WV) def. Princeton 3-2 (22-25, 27-25, 25-21, 19-25, 15-12)
- Charleston moves to 5-1, 1-0 EIVA; Princeton falls to 1-8, 0-1 EIVA
- Charleston, West Virginia
- Box Score
- Princeton Recap / Charleston Recap
Key Stats: Charleston earned their first ever EIVA win in three seasons in the league with the five-set thriller. The Golden Eagles won the match despite being outhit .239 to .198 and facing a 61-48 deficit in kills. Charleston made up the difference with a 9-6 lead in aces and an 11-6 edge in blocks. Princeton outhit Charleston .455 to .333 in the final stanza, but came up short.
Stat Leaders: A balanced attack with three double-digit kill totals led the Golden Eagles to the historic win. Senior outside Ryan Santos (13), freshman outside Max Senica (11) and junior middle Eugene Stuart (10) made up the group. Stuart hit at a team-high .438 clip and notched six blocks, while Santos served up five of the team’s nine aces. Sophomore middle Adriel Roberts turned in five kills and five blocks.
The Tigers also saw three players reach double-digit kill tallies, led by sophomore middle George Huhmann and senior middle Junior Oboh, who each posted 16 putaways. Oboh hit at a team-best .542 clip, while Huhmann put up a team-high four blocks. Sophomore outside Greg Luck followed with 12 kills. Sophomore outside Parker Dixon posted nine digs, seven kills and a team-leading four aces.
It Was Over When: The teams split the first 12 points of Set 5, before Charleston vaulted ahead with a 3-0 run, including a Santos kill and Stuart ace. Princeton cut the lead to one twice, at 12-11 and 13-12. In the end, putaways by Stuart and Stefan Krumerac sealed the victory. Stuart tallied two kills and two blocks in the final stanza.
#5 Loyola (Chicago) def. Quincy 3-2 (25-16, 25-15, 25-27, 22-25, 15-11)
- Loyola moves to 8-2, 1-0 MIVA; Quincy falls to 8-4, 0-2 MIVA
- Chicago, Illinois
- Box Score
- Quincy Recap / Loyola Recap
Key Stats: Loyola hit .250 or better in all five sets, including a match-high .625 effort in Set 5, en route to a .362 to .180 lead in hitting efficiency. The Ramblers also bested Quincy 59-53 in kills and 13-8 on the block. Each team served up five aces.
Stat Leaders: Junior outside Collin Mahan (14), senior opposite Ricky Gevis (13) and junior outside Will Tischler (12) led the scoring for Loyola with double-digit kills, while each hitting nearly .300 or better. Junior middle Paul Narup added seven kills on a team-best .500 hitting effort to go with a match-high 10 blocks. Gevis served up two of the team’s five aces. Freshman setter Garrett Zolg recorded a 41-assist, 13 dig double-double.
Senior outside Anthony Winter registered a match-high 18 kills, while also serving up four of Quincy’s five aces. Senior middle Shane McAdams followed with 13 putaways and a team-leading nine digs. Sophomore middle Blake Sprecher and freshman middle Zach Reider turned in seven kills apiece, while Sprecher also put up a team-best seven stuffs.
It Was Over When: Loyola charged out to a 10-4 lead in Set 5, forcing a Quincy timeout. Three Hawk hitting miscues and two blocks and two kills by Gevis paced the Ramblers to the lead. Quincy rallied to within two at 13-11 as Winter notched two kills and Loyola committed three errors. The Ramblers called timeout and forced a service error out of the break. Mahan served up an ace to clinch the 15-11 win.
#8 Lewis def. Lindenwood (RV) 3-0 (25-20, 26-24, 25-13)
- Lewis moves to 7-3, 1-0 MIVA; Lindenwood falls to 6-4, 1-2 MIVA
- Romeoville, Illinois
- Box Score
- Lindenwood Recap / Lewis Recap
Key Stats: Lewis committed just eight errors en route to a .371 hitting effort, while also topping Lindenwood 5-1 in aces and 6-3 in blocks. The Flyers, which notched their seventh straight victory, hit better than .400 in Sets 1 and 3.
Stat Leaders: Redshirt junior opposite Mitch Perinar led the way for Lewis with 11 kills, while three other players accounted for six putaways apiece. Redshirt freshman middle Tyler Mitchem, redshirt sophomore outside Ryan Coenen and sophomore outside Kyle Bugee made up the group. Mitchell and redshirt freshman middle TJ Murray put up three blocks apiece, while junior setter Matt Yoshimoto and Coenen each served up two aces.
Junior middle Connor Hipelius (8), sophomore outside Michael Jennings (8) and sophomore middle Sam Schindler (7) paced the Lindenwood attack. Hipelius hit at a match-high .667 clip (8-0-12) and put up a team-best two blocks.
It Was Over When: Lewis ran out to a 16-5 lead in Set 3 and never looked back. Mitchem recorded three kills and two blocks, while the Lions chipped in five points on errors. Yoshimoto and Coenen also served up aces in the early run. Lindenwood would get no closer than 10 the rest of the way. A Coenen kill and Lion hitting error closed out the 25-13 win and the sweep.
#19 Concordia-Irvine def. #17 UC San Diego 3-2 (23-25, 24-26, 25-22, 25-23, 15-13)
- Concordia moves to 4-4; UC San Diego falls to 7-5
- Irvine, California
- Box Score
- UCSD Recap / Concordia Recap
Key Stats: After being outhit in the first two sets, Concordia turned it around, besting UCSD In the final three, including a .217 to .125 edge in Set 5. Also key in leading the Eagles were 18 blocks and five aces. Concordia bested the Tritons in every scoring category: hitting (.225 to .204), kills (64-62), blocks (18-12) and aces (5-3).
Stat Leaders: Redshirt sophomore outside Raymond Barsemian and senior outside Jonathan Predney led the way for the Eagles with 16 and 15 kills respectively, although neither hit better than .200 for the match. Four other players turned in six or more putaways. Senior middle Taylor Falduti hit .500 with eight kills and a team-leading eight blocks. Predney added seven stuffs, while junior middle Hunter Howell and Barsemian put up six apiece. Redshirt junior setter Chandler Gibb notched a 52-assist, 16-dig double-double, while also chipping in six kills and four blocks.
A 27-kill, 11-dig double-double by senior opposite Tanner Syftestad was not enough to lead UCSD to victory. Syftestad also added a team-best two aces and three blocks. Senior outside Luke Lamont (9), redshirt senior middle Bryan Zhu (8), freshman outside Wyatt Harrison (7) and senior middle Alec Flowers (6) followed offensively. Zhu put up a team-high seven blocks, while Lamont and Flowers added four apiece. Senior setter Milosh Stojcic tallied a 51-assist, 13 dig double-double.
It Was Over When: Concordia led Set 5 12-9 with help from kills by five different players. The set was far from over, however, as UC San Diego rallied with four straight points to grab a 13-12 edge. Two Syftestad kills and one from Zhu guided the Triton attack. The Eagles called timeout and scored three straight to complete the comeback victory. A UCSD miscue, a Falduti ace and a solo stuff by Howell capped the win.
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