GRAND RAPIDS, Mich.  – The Golden Eagle men's volleyball program is set for another three-match week as they will hit the road and take on ranked opponents for the first time this year. CU opens the week with a WHAC match at (RV) Siena Heights on Wednesday at 7 p.m. and will be followed with a Tri-match at Lourdes where they will play their road WHAC match against (5) Lourdes and follow that with a neutral site game against Rio Grande on Friday, January 28 at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. 
 
Wednesday, January 26
at (RV) Siena Heights
7 p.m. 
Live Video
Live Stats
 
Friday, January 28
at (5) Lourdes
1 p.m.
Live Video
Live Stats
 
Friday, January 28
vs. Rio Grande (at Lourdes)
4 p.m.
Live Video
Live Stats
 
Last Week Recap
Cornerstone suffered some growing pains in their second week of action as they went 0-3 after the 3-1 start falling to Trinity Christian in four sets and Mount Vernon Nazarene/Calumet College – St. Joseph in straight sets. CU is now 3-4 on the year and 0-1 in WHAC play. 
 
Top in the Country
Cornerstone has played a ton of games in the early season as they rank second in the country with seven total matches. Due to that as well as some strong play, they are statistically one of the top teams in the country in many categories. One area they have seen strong success is with service aces, recording 44 of them on the year. They are led by David Galanes and Patrick Voloch, two newcomers to the program, who have combined for 25 of the 44 aces. 
 
Scouting Siena Heights
Cornerstone got to see Siena Heights during the MMVI Tournament but they did not play them. SHU has gone 4-1 with their lone loss coming at home in the WHAC opener to Indiana Tech in four sets. The Saints are excellent on the block with 52 total on the year, led by 21 from Jakob Pickett and 20 from Zak Tucker. Tucker is a freshman setter for the team who has been outstanding doing a little of everything with 180 assists, 19 digs, and 20 blocks. 
 
Scouting Lourdes
The defending WHAC Tournament Champs and number five team in the country Lourdes has played just one match this year as their season opening tournament was canceled due to COVID-19. In that one match, the Gray Wolves swept MVNU. Defending WHAC Player of the Year Jeff Lam returns for his senior year and was second on the team with eight kills. Sophomore Eduardo Ayala was the standout in the first match with 15 kills for five kills per set average and a ridiculous.538 hitting percentage. 
 
Scouting Rio Grande
Rio Grande is a brand-new men's volleyball program that opens their season on January 26 at Carlow University. 
They have a roster of nine players that are all freshmen, with eight of those nine players being from Ohio and one from New Orleans, Louisiana. Rio Grande will open their first year coached by Nick Rawls who was a former women's volleyball graduate assistant at Rio Grande and now will return to the Red Storm after six years as the men's coach at St. Andrews University in North Carolina. 
 
Contact: Jesse Campbell | nathan-jesse.campbell@cornerstone.edu | 616-222-1505
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