ST. DAVIDS, Pa. - In a hard-fought affair in its home opener on Friday night, Eastern Men's Volleyball came up just short in a four-set defeat to Randolph-Macon (24-26, 27-25, 19-25, 25-27). Junior Foster Lobb put together a career-best performance against the Yellow Jackets, finishing with a career-high 18 kills on 38 total attacks.
The first set was close throughout, with neither team leading by more than three points at any time. Trailing 16-13, the Eagles used a 9-4 run to grab a 22-20 advantage, but the Yellow Jackets scored six of the set's final eight points to grab the early one-set led. Darren Lopez continued his strong start to the young season, recording four of his 10 terminations in the first set, while Lobb added three of his own.
The Eagles fell behind 16-9 in the second set, but an 8-1 run, highlighted by a pair of service aces from both Justin Flor and Andres Suarez, knotted it up at 17-17. Randolph-Macon eventually regained the advantage at 24-22, but Eastern closed out the set with a 5-1 surge, all of which came on Yellow Jacket attack errors.
Despite six kills from Lobb in the third set, a 9-3 run by the Yellow Jackets at the midway point was the difference. The Eagles cut the deficit to 23-19, but Randolph-Macon secured the final two points to go up 2-1.
Due in large part to the strong serving of first-year setter Nick Storz, the Eagles built an early 6-0 lead in the fourth and final set. However, the Yellow Jackets cut into the deficit, eventually knotting the score up at 14. The two teams continued to battle, with the Eagles grabbing a 25-24 advantage on a kill from Flor, but the Yellow Jackets scored the final three points of the set to secure the victory.
"It was a night of ups and downs," Eastern Head Coach Randy Syracuse said. "The boy battled their heart out tonight in a very tight match to a team that showed just a little more poise. Simple errors at critical points turned possible victory into defeat. We will learn from this match and before long, the close losses will turn into wins. I'm confident of that."
First-year setter Chris Miller orchestrated the offense with 32 assists, while Storz finished with nine. Bruno Vargas led the Eagles' defensive effort with 11 digs, while Suarez and Flor each collected three service aces.
Eastern Men's Volleyball will be back in action tomorrow in Elizabethtown, taking on the host Blue Jays, along with Drew University, in a tri-match. First serve is set for 11:00 am.
