(BOWLING GREEN, Ky.) – The Thomas More University men's volleyball team finished its 2023 season Saturday at the Mid-South Conference Tournament. They defeated Midway University this morning, 3-0 (25-23, 25-15, 25-21), in the quarterfinals before falling to Campbellsville University tonight, 3-1 (24-26, 25-22, 25-20, 25-23).
Match 1: Thomas More defeats Midway, 3-0.
- Set one tilted back and forth.
- The Saints took a 17-14 lead, but the Eagles responded with three straight points to knot it at 17-17.
- The Saints then took a 19-17 lead and never looked back.
- They held off the Eagles and won 25-23.
- They jumped out to a 16-10 lead in the second set.
- They took advantage of several Midway errors to go along with two Dominic Rossi (Pittsburgh, Pa./Shaler) kills.
- They would cruise to a 25-15 victory.
- They dropped behind 11-9 in the final set.
- Thomas More responded with a 4-0 flurry, getting kills from Mason Collver (Zionsville, Ind./Zionsville) and Ben Albers (Delhi, Ohio/Elder)
- Their lead would grow to 19-14.
- Midway would cut into the lead and make it 20-18.
- However, the Eagles errors would haunt them as they gave the Saints four straight points on attack errors and would lose the set 25-21 and the match 3-0.
Match 2: Cumberland (Tenn.) defeats Thomas More, 3-1.
- Set one was a crazy one.
- Thomas More would go ahead 14-12 before four straight Phoenix points gave them the 16-14 advantage.
- They would eventually take a 23-20 lead.
- The Saints would not back down though.
- A Jacob Wehrman (Milford, Ohio/Milford) kill, Phoenix error, and Rossi kill tied the set at 23-23.
- A service error sent it to set point for Cumberland.
- However, three straight errors for Cumberland gave Thomas More the set one win.
- The Saints stormed to an 18-12 lead in set two.
- However, the Phoenix used a momentum-shifting 11-3 run to take a 23-21 lead.
- They would win the set and tie the match.
- Cumberland jumped out to a big 14-5 lead in the third set.
- They lead would eventually sit at 19-11.
- Thomas More would try and claw back, manufacturing a 5-0 run to cut it to 19-16.
- Collver and Will Busken (Cincinnati, Ohio/Elder) had kills while Eli Chambers (Eagle Rock, Calif./Eagle Rock/Santa Monica College) had a pair of aces.
- However, the Phoenix would come away with the set victory and go up 2-1.
- The Saints hung with Cumberland throughout the final set but could never quite get over the hump.
- Cumberland led 15-14, before using a 6-3 rally to grab a 21-17 advantage.
- The Saints fought but fell 25-23 and 3-1 in the match.
Match 1:
- Rossi led the Saints with 12 kills, finishing the season with three matches of 10 or more kills.
- Chambers and Noah Smith-Trondle (Cincinnati, Ohio/Walnut Hills) both had 10 assists.
- Busken had four total blocks (two solos, two assists).
- Chambers, Conner Young (Cincinnati, Ohio/Princeton), and Jonathan Litzler (Edgewood, Ky./St. Henry) had four digs.
Match 2:
- Caleb Lipscomb (Cincinnati, Ohio/Walnut Hills/St. Francis Brooklyn College) had 13 kills, finishing the season with three matches of 10 or more kills.
- Young had 20 assists, while Chambers had 15. They also both had two aces.
- Wehrman had five total blocks (one solo, four assists.)
- Litzler had 15 digs, finishing the season with 13 matches of 11 or more digs.
Thomas More finishes their season with an overall record of 13-13. Their 13 wins are the most in program history and their six conference wins are the most in program history. They will return to action next winter as an NCAA Division II provisional member.
