Grand Rapids, Mich. – Men's Volleyball had a short trip across Grand Rapids to meet rival Aquinas Saints for their first WHAC showdown of the year. It was all business for the Golden Eagles as they dominated their way past the Saints in a four-set match. The Golden Eagles take their momentum on the road to Mount Vernon Nazarene for another WHAC matchup on Friday, February 13
th.
Game Recap – #RV Cornerstone – 3 Aquinas – 1 (25-15, 25-18, 19-25, 25-20)
First Set: Cornerstone – 25 Aquinas – 15
- The Golden Eagles jumped out to a 4-2 lead to open the first set of the match thanks to some attacking errors as both teams were settling in.
- Aquinas found some good swings to bring the set back to level terms at 6-6.
- Matthew True found a pair of service aces for Cornerstone to begin taking a larger lead in the set.
- The team effort continued for Cornerstone as they took a 18-13 lead with both offense and defense working together as they inched closer to securing the first set.
- The serving from Matthew True continued to tell the story as he led the way with Cornerstone taking a 1-0 lead in the match off a dominant 25-15 set one win.
Second Set: Cornerstone – 25 Aquinas – 18
- Ethan Walker and Kyle Kuebler both kicked off the second set with multiple kills to help CU reach a 5-1 lead to start the set.
- Aquinas managed to hang around well in the set as they took a 13-12 lead looking to get back into the match.
- Kyle Kuebler secured another pair of kills to give Cornerstone a 15-13 lead as the momentum began to shift back towards the Golden Eagles.
- Ryder Roberts smashed a serve that was too hot to handle for the Saints which forced Aquinas to take their first timeout of the set trailing 17-13.
- The Golden Eagles continued to take advantage of the Saints mistakes which led them to a 25-18 second set win and set them up for a smooth sweep.
Third Set: Cornerstone – 19 Aquinas – 25
- The Golden Eagles came out in set number three with a full head of steam through Andrew Galanes as he collected multiple assists and a service ace to find the early lead.
- JeQuarri Shannon found some success from the middle of the floor with a pair of kills to extend the Golden Eagles lead to 10-7.
- The errors started to pile up for both teams as the set was tight at 13-13.
- Matthew True went up top for a bigtime kill to earn the Golden Eagles a one-point lead at 17-16 but the following two points went the Saints way forcing a Cornerstone timeout late in the third set.
- The Saints continued their dominant streak and added four more points and took a 22-17 lead late in the set looking to force more volleyball.
- Cornerstone ran out of answers and dropped the set 25-19.
Fourth Set: Cornerstone – 25 Aquinas – 20
- The Saints jumped out to a 3-0 lead to start the fourth set looking to force extra volleyball.
- Cornerstone climbed back into this set through Kyle Hortness who placed two perfect serves leading to back-to-back aces.
- The Golden Eagles went into all business mode as they took a 15-9 lead and forced an Aquinas timeout with the match on the verge of being closed out.
- Matthew True added three more kills for the Golden Eagles to reach a 20-13 lead.
- Ryder Roberts and Andrew Galanes closed out the contest for the Golden Eagles with important kills to secure victory over the Saints.
By The Numbers:
15/5 –
Matthew True was the leader for the Golden Eagles posting 15 kills and five service aces.
26 –
Andrew Galanes provided the passes tonight with 26 assists in the match.
12 –
Mitchell Carrera was strong on the defensive side finding 12 digs in the contest.
What's Next?
Men's Volleyball gears up for another WHAC matchup on Friday, February 13
th against Mount Vernon Nazarene for a 7:00 p.m. start.
Volleyball Contact:
Mason Young
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