CINCINNATI, Ohio. – Over the weekend your Mount St. Joseph University men's volleyball team traveled to Michigan to take on both The University of Olivet and Adrian College. The Lions first faced off against Olivet on Friday night before heading over to Adrian on Saturday afternoon. The Lions started their weekend off strong taking down Olivet 3-1 but fell to Adrian on Saturday 3-1.
MOUNT – 3 OLIVET – 1
The Lions first set of the weekend was an absolute battle. To begin play, each team traded points until the Comets would jump ahead by two taking a 7-5 lead. The Lions answered with kills from
Tanner Smart and
Jude Lewis tying the score at eight. But, both teams couldn't stack points together trading points until the game was tied at 19. The Comets would grab their biggest lead of the set taking four straight points. The Lions answered scoring three straight points but couldn't get past the Comets in set one with the score reading 25-23.
Set two looked to be another battle between the Comets and Lions. Each team traded points again until
Ryan Bollhauer and
Ben Carmosino came up with a huge block to give the Lions a 9-8 advantage. The Lions would protect their lead and then add to it. Five straight points from the Lions gave them a small cushion bringing the score to 20-13. Olivet would answer with three unanswered points but the Lions would take the next four winning set two 25-17.
In set three, the Comets jumped out to an early lead. Olivet surged out to a 11-7 start but the Lions would quickly answer. Kills from Lewis and
Roger Wilcox powered a 4-0 run to tie the score at 11. The momentum shift proved to be crucial as the Lions would take control. The Lions built their lead up to five, taking a 20-15 lead. But, the Comets would come soaring back pulling within one as the score now read 24-23. The Lions needed one point to win the set and Wilcox delivered earning the kill and the 25-23 set three victory.
In the fourth set, Olivet again gained an early advantage. The Comets started quickly jumping out to a 7-4 lead. Olivet protected their lead but the Lions were still within striking distance. A 6-1 run from the Lions pulled them within one, bringing the score to 22-23. The Lions surrendered a point but would answer with three straight points to take a 25-24 lead. The Comets tied the game at 25 but a kill from
Luke Dwire and an attacking error from Olivet gave the Lions the set four win, 27-25. After four sets of volleyball, your Lions were victorious taking down the Comets of Olivet 3-1.
MOUNT – 1 ADRIAN – 3
To begin play, the Lions looked dominant jumping out to an early 10-2 advantage. Adrian would answer but the Lions continued to build their lead holding a 14-4 advantage. Adrian wasn't done though, as they climbed back to trim their deficit to 20-15. Adrian provided resistance until the end but the Lions were able to take set one 25-21.
In set two, the Lions would jump ahead first but this time Adrian would have an answer. The Bulldogs pulled ahead taking a five-point, 14-9 lead. But, the Lions had an answer scoring four straight to trim their deficit to just one. Following the run, the Lions couldn't keep up with the offense of Adrian falling in set two 25-21.
In the third set, Adrian again got started quickly. The Bulldogs rushed to a 5-2 advantage and never let go. The Lions answered pulling within one to bring the score to 9-8 but the Bulldogs wouldn't surrender their lead. The Lions pulled within three late but it was not enough to take set three falling 25-19.
In the fourth set, the Bulldogs wasted no time grabbing the lead. Adrian began the fourth on a 7-2 run but a quick answer from the Lions pulled them within one making the score 10-9. Adrian would respond with four straight points taking a 14-9 advantage. Adrian guarded their lead tightly as the Lions would pull within one late, making the score 20-19. To close out play, the Lions battled but could not knock down the Adrian lead falling in set four 25-22. After four sets the Lions fell to the Bulldogs of Adrian 3-1.
Jude Lewis had a solid weekend for the Lions offensively. Lewis led the Lions in kills with 22 on the weekend while hitting .194.
Ryan Bollhauer followed adding 20 kills while hitting .292. Bollhauer also did damage at the net tallying 11 blocks, 2 solo. Freshman
Tanner Smart was impressive offensively. Smart finished the weekend with 15 kills while hitting .273. Smart also led the Lions in blocks tallying a dominant 14 in two matches, with 4 being solo blocks.
UP NEXT: Your Mount St. Joseph Lions are back in action on Friday, March 29
th when they travel to Springfield, Ohio to take on the Tigers of Wittenberg. The match is scheduled to begin at 7PM.
