Cincinnati, Ohio—The Mount St. Joseph University Men's Volleyball program played an out of conference match against Siena Heights on Sunday, March 13. This game was a tightly contested battle, as the Lions came out on top in five sets (23-25, 23-25, 25-16, 25-20, 15-14)
The Saints of Siena Heights took the first two sets of the afternoon, both ending 25-23. Each of the opening two sets saw back and forth action, as they would end with tightly contested scores. The third set of the match saw a complete change in the pace of the contest. The Lions would win set three in dominant fashion, 25-16. In this set the Lions would never trail, assembling an 8-0 run to jump to a commanding 18-10 lead, before closing the set.
Entering the fourth set of the match, with momentum swung in favor of the Lions, they would even the match score 2-2. Set four saw the Lions leap ahead to an early 6-2 lead, as Ben Carmosino would play lights out distributing the ball to a trio of Lions attack Rey Sanchez, Hayden Wood and Elijah Scott.
In the winner-takes all set of the evening, both clubs would display their best efforts to add a win to their season totals. In back and forth action the Lions found themselves tied at 11-11. A kill from Wood would spark a 3-0 run to catapult the Lions ahead 14-11. The Saints would return with their own 3-0 run that tied the game at 14. However a closing 2-0 run facilitatied by a kill and assist from Carmosino would push the Lions to a 16-14 win.
This win serves as the Lions seventh win of the season, as they are a win away from breaking the .500 mark on the season. In this all around team effort the Lions saw several standout performances. Jason Hascher led the team in kills, finishing with 15 and adding 9 digs to his season totals. Rey Sanchez would be the second Lion to finish with double-digit kills, adding 10, while totaling 5 digs and 3 blocks. The Freshman, Carmosino would complete one of his best performances of his young career. In his efforts he would finish with 45 assists, 5 kills while hitting .455 and 3 digs.
Now the Lions return their focus back to their MVCL schedule, where they will host Adrian College on Friday, March 18. This match will begin at 7PM. For continued coverage of this upcoming match and all other MSJ Athletics, continue to follow msjlions.com
