ASTON, Pa. – After a rough start to the match, Eastern University Men's Volleyball hit .280n over the final three sets to pull away to a win at Neumann University. Symir Byrd led the Eagles with 10 kills and Connor Tucholski added eight.

With two regulars out, the Eagles started the match with some new faces in new places, and it went poorly to begin. Though they received serve decently well, the Eastern attack was nearly non-existent through the opening frame. The host Knights hit .500 with 13 kills, and the Eagles had just three kills in dropping the opening frame 25-8.

After a hard reset, the Eastern attack found its feet in the second set. The Eagles had six different hitters record kills on the way to a 10-4 lead. With the Eagles serving aggressively, the lead grew to 19-9. Josiah Cash had a pair of service aces and Byrd and Max Bagileo drove home single aces on the way to the lead. Rodney Quarles pounded out the final kill to win the set 25-16 and tie the match at 1-1.

The Eagles hit .500 in the second set. None of the six hitters had more than five attacks, and five of the six hitters had multiple kills. Jeremiah Pha and Chris Miller each had five assists.

The all-important third set was close from start to finish. With the match tied at 19, Byrd earned a side-out with a kill. The Eagles then stretched the lead to three with a block from Bagileo and Byrd and  a Neumann attack error. That three-point lead would prove to be enough as the teams traded sideouts and Byrd ended the set with an ace.

Led by Byrd with five, the Eagles had 14 kills in the third set. Miller dished out seven assists and the team hit .257.

The Eagles (2-4) grabbed control of the fourth set with long service runs from Quarles and Cash to build a 15-9 lead. Eastern missed just one sideout opportunity the rest of the way and claimed the fourth set, 25-15.

Max Bushong tallied 11 assists for the Eagles. Both Pha and Miller finished with 16 assists.

Eastern is at Elizabthtown College for a tri-match this Saturday.