(CRESTVIEW HILLS, Ky.) – The Thomas More University men's volleyball team competed in a tri-match Saturday against the Carlow University Celtics and Reinhardt University Eagles. They beat Carlow 3-0 (25-9, 25-19, 25-15), before falling to Reinhardt 3-0 (25-18, 25-23, 29-27).
Match 1:
- The Saints made quick work of the Celtics in set one, winning 25-9 to go up 1-0.
- First Year Will Strasser (Cleves, Ohio/Taylor) had five kills and a block assist during the set.
- The Celtics hung tough in set two, holding a 12-10 lead.
- A Will Busken (Cincinnati, Ohio/Elder) kill, and two Busken aces fueled a 5-0 Saints rally that gave them a 15-12 advantage and the momentum.
- Four kills would lead the Saints down the stretch in a 25-19 win and 2-0 match lead.
- Thomas More took a 13-3 lead in set three.
- Strasser had two kills to this point in the set.
- The Celtics tried to claw their way back into it but would ultimately get swept.
Match 2:
- The Saints trailed the Eagles 12-10 in set one.
- Reinhardt would seize the set's momentum with a 6-1 flurry to take an 18-11 lead.
- Thomas More wouldn't recover and dropped the set to fall behind 1-0.
- After getting behind 5-2 early, Reinhardt recovered with an 8-2 run to take a 10-7 lead in set two.
- Both teams would trade points until the scored was all tied up at 22-22.
- Caleb Lipscomb (Cincinnati, Ohio/Walnut Hills/St. Francis Brooklyn College) had two kills to help the Saints get back into it.
- After taking a quick 23-22 lead off a Mason Collver (Zionsville, Ind./Zionsville) kill, the Eagles would win it with a 3-0 rally.
- The final set was a wild one, with neither team blinking en route to a 19-19 stalemate.
- Ben Albers (Delhi, Ohio/Elder) had six kills and a block assist to help the Saints get to this point in the set.
- Thomas More used a Lipscomb kill, a Busken and Albers block, and an Eagle attack error to take the momentum with a 22-19 lead.
- However, Reinhardt fought back and would eventually tie the score at 24-24.
- The Saints earned set points at 25-24 and 26-25 but couldn't put them away.
- They fought off an Eagles set point to make it 27-27, but Rodolfo Biegelmeyer slammed the door on the Saints with two straight kills to win the set 27-29 and the match 3-0.
- Strasser led the Saints in match one with nine kills, while Albers led Thomas More in the second match with 11 kills.
- Matt Gagnon (Cincinnati, Ohio/La Salle) had eight digs in match one, while Jonathan Litzler (Edgewood, Ky./St. Henry) had a team-high 11 in match two.
- Landon Tackett (Pickerington, Ohio/Pickerington Central) dished out 23 assists in match one.
- Conner Young (Cincinnati, Ohio/Princeton) had 18 assists, while Eli Chambers (Eagle Rock, Calif./Eagle Rock/Santa Monica College) had 15 in the second match.
- Thomas More had 18 block assists and four solo blocks over the two matches.
- The Saints hit .351 as a team against Carlow.
The Saints are back in Mid-South Conference play on Monday evening against Midway University at 6:00 p.m. They are 5-2 all-time against the Eagles.
