IMMACULATA, Pa.– In a getaway day match heading into Spring Break, Eastern University Men's Volleyball hit .323 as a team to earn a close three-set win at Immaculata.
Jeremiah Pha led the Eagles with 13 kills.
In the opening set, the Eagles (6-7) were able to sideout at 70 percent, but struggled to score on serve. In that, a pair of aces from
Andres Suarez Batista and a single ace from
Lucas Adam helped the cause as the Eagles won 25-23. Eastern had only a single receiving error in the opening set as Pha tallied four kills and Suarez Batista and
Josiah Cash each had three kills.
In the second set, neither team had a lead larger than two points until the final point of the set. Suarez Batista again made teh difference at the service line with a service point and an ace to put the Eagles up 21-19. Eastern was 19-for-23 in sideouts, and the host Mighty Macs went 18-for-24.
Lucas Adam and
Josiah Cash each had four kills in the set, and the Eagles hit .407 as a team.
Immaculata started the third set with a 5-1 lead, but the Eagles closed the gap and tied the score at 8-8 after a sideout kill and service point from Pha. Neither team led by more than a point until the hosts earned a sideout point and a service ace to get set point at 24-22.
Max Bagileo pounded out a kill to save one set point, and
Chris Miller served aggresively and Pha delivered a kill to tie the set. The Mighty Macs earned a sideout point to gain another set point, but the Eagles handled a short serve and Pha again delivered. Adam flipped the score with a service ace and forced an Immaculata timeout with the Eagles leading 26-25.
The two teams traded sidouts before Cash and Pha combined on a block to end the match. Miller had 15 of his 36 assists, and Pha had seven kills in the final set. Suarez Batista led the Eagles with six digs in the third and ten for the match.
Tonight's match was a late add to fill a hole in both teams' schedules. The Eagles will have another week often until they play a pair of MAC matches at Hood next Saturday. They will play the host Blazers and the Misericordia University Cougars.
