ASHLAND, Va. - On the final day of the Macon Invitational on Saturday, Eastern Men's Volleyball dropped a tough-five set decision to Roanoke (25-22, 25-18, 22-25, 23-25, 11-15). The Eagles earned victories in the first two sets, but the Maroons (5-4) came roaring back to win the final three sets, and ultimately, the match.

Lucas Adam led the Eagles' attack with 12 kills, while Max Bagileo finished with 10 terminations and Jeremiah Pha added nine. Chris Miller orchestrated the offense with 35 assists, while Max Bushong led the defensive effort with a career-best 20 digs.

Eastern (3-7) came out on fire in the first set with 11 kills in 17 swings for a match-best .529 hitting percentage. With the two teams neck-and-neck all the way, the Eagles ended the set on an 8-3 run to win 25-22. Adam finished with four kills and a service ace, while Pha collected three terminations.

The Eagles continued their strong play in the second set, scoring six of the first eight points and using a 9-2 run to build a commanding 15-5 advantage. Eastern used another five-point surge to go up 20-9 before closing out the 25-18 triumph. Bagileo tallied four of Eastern's 10 kills in the sets and the Eagles hit .227 as a team.

However, Eastern could not close it out. After 21 kills in the first two sets, the Eagles had just 20 and hit under .150 in the final three. Additionally, the Eagles committed 14 errors in the last three sets. While the match was fairly even, the Maroons did an excellent job serving with 10 aces to Eastern's four.

The Eagles return home to the NEST next Saturday for a tri-match with Cairn University and Brooklyn College. The first match is set to begin at 11:00 am.