GLENSIDE, Pa. (Men's Volleyball) - After dropping the first set, No. 5 Alvernia University rallied to defeat No. 4 Arcadia University, 3-2, in the MAC Men's Volleyball Play-In game on Monday night at Arcadia, advancing the Golden Wolves to the semifinal round.
In the opening set of the night, Arcadia jumped out to a 3-0 lead behind back-to-back service aces by the Knights, and would extend its lead up to 10-4. A block by Brian Rea and Josh Stewart later in the set brought Alvernia within four at 15-11. The Knights would keep their foot on the gas though, scoring the final four points of the set for a 25-16 first set win.
Alvernia battled back in set two of the evening. An ace by Logan McGinley put Alvernia up 4-1 early, but the Knights would come back to tie it later on in the set at 10-10 following a kill by Owen Heft. A kill by Tyler Anderson and a block by Rea and Stewart put Alvernia back up by two, 12-10.
With the Knights trailing by one, 14-13, later on in the set, Alvernia went on a 4-1 to extend its lead up to 18-14. But, the Knights went on a 6-0 run of their own to take a 20-18 lead.
Alvernia then rattled off four straight points, includings two kills by McGinley, to retake the lead at 22-20. The Knights fended off one set point, but the Golden Wolves took the 25-22 set two win off a set-error by Arcadia.
Alvernia finished off the second set with 14 kills and .355 attack percentage. Anderson led the set with five kills and just one error on 12 attacks.
The Knights responded in set three, jumping out to an early 7-1 lead. Following an Alvernia timeout, the Golden Wolves scored five straight to bring it within one at 7-6. But, the Knights scored four of the next five to extend their lead back to four at 11-7. Trailing by just two at 17-15, Arcadia scored five straight to jump out to a 22-15 lead. Alvernia held off set point twice on a kill by Mike Monczewski and a block by Rea and Monczewski, but Arcadia was able to finish the set off with a kill at 25-19 to take the 2-1 match lead.
Alvernia rose to the challenge of the must-win fourth set. With the teams locked at 5-5 early, Alvernia scored three of the next four points to go up 8-6. Alvernia continued to hold a two point lead until a 5-1 run on five kills by the Golden Wolves extended their lead to 14-9. The Knights would not get closer than five the rest of the set as Alvernia took the fourth set 25-18 on a kill by Josh Stewart.
The Golden Wolves hit an impressive .467 attack percentage in set four. They had just two errors on 30 attacks with 16 kills. They also played it clean on set assists, with 30 assists and no errors.
Alvernia carried its momentum from the fourth set into the fifth. The Golden Wolves led 5-3 midway through the set following a 5-1 run that was capped off by a block by Anderson and Rea. The Knights came within one at 5-4, but Alvernia went on a 3-0 run to push its lead to 8-4. The Knights then scored on back-to-back kills to come within two at 8-6, but Alvernia again pushed ahead scoring back-to-back points of its own on a kill by Victor de Avila followed by a block by de Avila and Stewart. Later in the set, Alvernia had a match point opportunity fended off by a kill from the Knights. But Alvernia was able to finish off on the following point attempt with a kill by Tyler Anderson to lift Alvernia to the 15-10 set win and 3-2 match win.
"The game was quite a rollercoaster," said Head Coach Jon Keller. "We hit a bunch of lows, but we never gave up. The guys fought harder tonight than I've ever seen them fight before."
"We just stuck with our team identity of being a nationally ranked blocking team, and played fantastic behind that block," added Keller. "[the block] led to transition points, which ultimately won us the match.
Entering the night, Alvernia ranked third in the country in blocks per set with 2.491. Alvernia averaged four blocks a set tonight.
McGinley led Alvernia with a .314 attack percentage. McGinley finished with 14 kills on 35 attacks with just three errors. He also finished with a team-high 37 digs. Anderson finished the night with 18 kills on 49 attacks. Ethyn Burczyk finished with 37 set assists. Brian Rea and Victor De Avila each finished with six blocks.
Tonight's 3-2 win is Alvernia's first win over the Knights since Alvernia's inaugural season in 2017. The Golden Wolves were swept in 3-0 losses in both meetings of this year's regular season.
Alvernia now advances to the MAC Men's Volleyball semifinal on Wednesday. The Golden Wolves will face No. 1 Messiah University. Alvernia defeated Messiah 3-2 on March 24th, but fell to the Falcons 3-1 in the second match of the series a week later.
The semifinal match with the Falcons is slated for Wednesday at 7:00 PM at Messiah University.