ST. DAVIDS, Pa.– After playing the first six league opponents away from home, Eastern University Men's Volleyball hosted the Alvernia University Golden Wolves. After pulling out a 31-29 win in the opening set, the visiting Wolves (6-12, 2-4 MAC) emerged with a close three-set win. 

How it Happened:
Both teams had chances in a first set where neither team led by more than three points. Anthony Smith gave the Eagles the only three-point lead of the set with an ace to make it 10-7. From there, the teams traded points and side-outs all the way to 29-29. Each of the teams had the chance to serve for the set. ON their fifth try, the Wolves finally claimed the set when a Darren Lopez attack sailed long.

Both teams hit well in the opening set. Alvernia posted a .400 hitting percentage with Logan McGinley recording six kills in the frame. The Eagles had 16 kills and hit a solid .250. Smith led the Eagles with four kills on six swings. Cameron Parsons had 14 of his 34 assists in the opening set.

The competitive play continued in the second set. Thought the Wolves built a 10-6 edge early, the Eagles chipped away and took a 15-14 lead on a big solo block from Noah Westbrook. After the teams traded side-outs, the Wolves scored two points on serve to build an 18-16 lead. The Eagles were unable to score on serve and the Wolves pulled away to a 25-20 second-set win.

The Eagles (5-6, 1-6 MAC) had 14 more kills in the second set, but ten hitting errors and four bad serves gave the Wolves the points they needed to get over the top.

The Eagles fell behind 9-5 in the third but rallied to within a point at 15-14. The Wolves rattled off nine of the final 12 points of the match for a 25-17 win in the final set. The Eagles hit just .065 in the final set.

Westbrook had four kills on four attacks in the final set. Smith had 10 kills and Lopez had 11 kills. Bruno Vargas had nine digs to lead the Eastern defense.

Coach Syracuse Says:
"This was a fun environment to be in. Our guys played with good energy and competed on every point. We have been working on some things in our blocking, and we saw some big improvements in that area, and we fought to keep balls in play. I told the guys after the match that if we compete this way that we have nothing to hang our heads about. We will continue to get better and to build chemistry as a team."

Up Next:
Eastern will host Arcadia and Widener in a Tri-Match on March 23.