IMMACULATA, Pa.– Eastern University Men's Volleyball hit nearly .300 as a team and got contributions from 13 players in a season-opening win at Immaculata University.
Foster Lobb posted a team-best nine kills and added four digs.
The Eagles jumped to an early lead and were efficient in their side-out game to earn a 25-19 opening set win. Lobb and fellow outside hitter
Darren Lopez each had four kills and
Trey Miller picked up six digs in the frame. The Eastern serve receive helped the side to a 78 percent side-out percentage in the set.
Chris Miller picked up 10 of his 26 assists in the first.
Chris Miller was the only Eagle to play in all three sets.
The Eagles were nearly as efficient in claiming a 25-20 win in the second set. Three-point runs with
Josiah Cash and
Chris Miller at the service line helped the Eagles to forge an 11-8 lead in the second and a nearly flawless serve-receive set helped the Eagles to hold and extend that lead. Lobb put down five balls and Cash was 3-for-4 on his chances. Eastern hit .370 in the set.
Bruno Vargas had three digs in the set.
Nick Storz and
Andres Suarez each had two aces on the way to a 25-18 third-set win.
"The match was everything you'd expect in a 'first match of the year,'" Head Coach
Randy Syracuse said after the match. " [We made] Some plays that show how hard we have been working in practice and some others that show we still need more practice. I was happy overall with the infusion of the new players.
Chris Miller did a nice job of moving the ball around. Max Bagilieo had some big swings and even bigger blocks. Andres, though maybe a little undersized in the middle, showed great movement both offensively and on the block as demonstrated in his match point stuff block."
"We could single out contributions from all 13 healthy players," Syracuse added. "We will continue to work to get better, but I am really pleased with this start. Darren emerged as today's sweater-vest player of the game."
Eastern opens its home schedule on Saturday with a tri-match against Randolph Macon and Cairn. Unfortunately, fans will have to wait a little longer to see the Eagles at the Nest. Fans will not be permitted at home games until at least February.
The games will be streamed live.
