ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa.– Eastern University Men's Volleyball dropped a pair of tight matches to open the 2020 season. The young Eagles reached at least 19 points in all six sets but were unable to claim a set against the host Eilizabethtown College Blue Jays or the Penn State Behrend  Nittany Lions. Foster Lobb led the Eagles with 28 kills in the two matches. 

How It Happened:
The Eagles led 18-16 in the opening set against the Blue Jays, but the hosts used a five-point burst to grab the lead and pulled away to a 25-20 win. Eastern picked up 13 kills in the second set but played from behind throughout and fell 25-22. The Blue Jays won the final set 25-20. 

Justin Flor had 27 assists and eight digs in the match. Lobb had 13 kills and Darren Lopez added 11. 

The Eagles had only a few minutes to recover before facing the Lions. 

The Eagles stayed right with the Lions through the early part of the opening set and were within a point at 23-22 on a kill from Lobb. The Lions took advantage of an error and an ace to close out the set. 

After falling behind early in the second, the Eagles used four points with Kiriam Yordan at the service line to close the gap to 13-12. The Lions, however, pulled away to claim the second set 25-20 and the third 25-19.

Flor had 19 assists and nine digs and Lobb hit .357 on the way to 15 kills. 

Coach Syracuse Says:
"While these were not he results we were looking for, there is a lot to be encouraged about. With some early-season injury issues and several players playing new positions for the first time we competed hard just falling short in each game to two very solid teams."

"Justin Flor showed signs of understanding the setting postion far beyond his experience level. He was able to adjust the tempo on his sets, locate his middles and right side attackers. He was positive at all times and had several big blocks which really fired up the team."

"Noah Westbrook changed from MB to RS hitter this year and continues to improve everyday.  He had some big kills and made some timely digs. Trey Miller led the team in digs and provided consistent passing in each match. He had a high energy level while making some big digs look easy." 

"Foster made good, hard, smart swings that used a bigger block time and again.  He was a solid passer and defender as well.  All of this combined to make him (as voted by his teammates), 'sweater vest player of the day.' As a team we performed well at times in all areas but the consistency to pull out the wins in each set is still not there.  One of the things we are working on is to be more of a presence at the net on the block.  We struggled with this today and must re-dedicate our efforts in practice." 

"This is something to build on.  The coaches and the players are excited to get back to work."

Up Next:
The Eagles have a week to work before returning to action with a pair of matches at Neumann next Saturday.