Lions' men's volleyball team ties program record with 16th win of season

The 14th-ranked Mount St. Joseph University men's volleyball team fell behind 2-0 in sets on Saturday afternoon, and then rebounded to take the last three sets and claim a 3-2 home win over 13th-ranked Dominican (IL) University. The win, the Lions second over a ranked opponent this season, enabled the team to tie a program record with their 16th victory of the season. The Mount, 16-8 overall, 9-3 in the MCVL, drops Dominican to 12-10, 7-4. The Lions will play again on March 27 when they host league-rival Lakeland (WI) College.

The Starts posted wins of 27-25, 25-21 in the first two sets, taking advantage of Mount errors and a diversifield attack. The Lions, however, got back into the match in set three when they broke open a close set down the stretch, thanks in part to the Alex Vohland (West Chester, OH/Lakota West) and Adam Williams (Chicago, IL/Mt. Carmel). The Mount claimed the win, 25-23, but trailed early in set four. Following ties at 18, 19, 20, and 21, the Lions took control of the fourth setwith three kills by Toby Birnbrich (Anthem, AZ/Boulder Creek) to the end to claim a 25-22 victory.

The two teams were tied at eight-all in the fifth and deciding set, before the Mount went on a 6-1 run, as Williams posted two kills. Vohland would record the game-winning kill, with the Mount posting a 15-11 final set win.

The Lions collected 64 kills in the match, recording a solid .275 team hitting percentage. Three Mount players hit over .400 in the match, with Vohland recording a match-high 25 kills. Williams added 13 kills and five digs while Zach Kuebler (Columbus, OH/Hilliard Darby) had nine digs. Luke Eschenbach (Cincinnati, OH/La Salle) added 56 assists. The Mount had 12 blocks in the game.

Mount Head Coach Ryan Lengerich was thrilled with his team's win following the match.

“That was without a doubt the biggest win for the MSJ men’s volleyball program history, not just because the guys beat a great Dominican team, but because they showed so much heart by coming back down two sets,'' Lengerich stated. "This match was all about leadership, and team captains Luke Eschenbach and Alex Vohland took control of the team and didn’t let anyone quit. The bench was amazing, the crowd was fantastic and the guys on the court showed a lot of courage. It was a special afternoon and I’m happy for the guys.”