LANCASTER, Pa. - In its season-opening tri-match on Saturday, Eastern Men's Volleyball began its 2024 season against a pair of quality opponents. Despite a strong showing in the first match, Eastern fell to host Lancaster Bible 3-1 (21-25, 25-23, 27-29, 21-25), before dropping a three-set decision to Southern Virginia (10-25, 12-25, 18-25) in the second contest. 

Eastern (0-2) battled valiantly against Lancaster Bible in a competitive four-set match to begin the afternoon. The Eagles were efficient throughout the match, finishing with 42 kills and just 15 errors for a .243 hitting percentage. However , the host Chargers were equally as effective. LBC hit .268 for the match with 54 terminations, and a victory in a crucial third set helped swing the momentum in their favor. 

The Chargers led wire-to-wire in set one, securing a 25-21 triumph. The Eagles hung right with LBC, nearly matching them point-for-point, but a 8-4 surge at the end of the set put the Chargers in the drivers' seat.  Junior Rodney Quarles, in his return to the lineup, led the Eastern offense with six kills in the opening set. 

The second set went to the Eagles in another back-and-forth affair. Trailing 10-8, the Eagles used a 5-1 run to turn a two-point deficit into a two-point advantage. The Chargers tied the set at 13-13, 15-15, and 19-19, but kills from  senior Lucas Adam, Quarles, and first-year Symir Byrd on three straight points put the Eagles ahead 22-19. Quarles added another termination to put the Eagles ahead 23-20, and Eastern secured the second-set triumph on a pair of LBC service errors. Quarles recorded four more kills in set two, and Adam and Byrd combined for four. 

The third set of the match proved to be the turning point. Eastern grabbed an early 3-0 lead with kills from Quarles and senior Josiah Cash, and eventually built a 20-15 lead on a multitude of LBC hitting and service errors. Kills from Adam and Quarles put the Eagles ahead 12-10 at the midway point of the set, and the Eagles went on to score their next eight points off of LBC miscues. However, the Chargers recovered, using a 7-2 surge to turn a five-point deficit into a 22-22 tie. The two teams continued to exchange points, but back-to-back errors by the Eagles allowed the Chargers to take the third set, 29-27.

LBC carried that momentum into the final set, overcoming early deficits of 7-4, 10-7, and 12-10 to eventually secure the four-set victory. The Chargers ended the match on a 5-1 run.

Quarles played an excellent first match, leading the Eagles with 16 kills. Byrd, a Cabrini transfer, had an equally impressive Eastern debut with eight kills, Adam while also finished with eight terminations. Junior Chris Miller orchestrated the offense with 28 assists, while sophomore Max Bushong led the Eastern defense with 10 digs. Graduate right side hitter Jarred Barch used his size to his advantage to record a team-leading three blocks. 

Going up against a perennially talented, and ranked, Southern Virginia team in the second match, Eastern was unable to settle into an offensive rhythm in a three-set sweep. On 62 attacks, the Eagles finished with just 14 kills and 17 errors for a .-048 hitting percentage. Conversely, the Knights hit a remarkable .492 for the match, finishing with 36 kills and just seven errors on 59 swings. 

Quarles, Adams, and Max Bagileo led the Eagles with three kills apiece, while Miller finished with five assists. Cash and Quarles each recorded two blocks, while Adam and Andres Suarez Batista each added three digs. 

Eastern begins the home portion of its schedule on Tuesday night at The NEST in a 7:00 pm match against Wilkes University.