HARRISONBURG, PA - In a determined "we're not going to fail this time" type effort, Eastern Mennonite got the oh-so-sweet revenge they were looking for.
Playing a Crimson Eagle squad that swept the Royals in a rout back in early February, EMU managed to reverse roles late Friday night. After waiting nearly a month and a half for the chance to settle the score, Eastern Mennonite handed PBU their most lopsided defeat of the season, a 3-0 conquest that saw the Royals come out victorious by scores of 30-27, 30-20, 30-19.
It's just the third time the Crimson Eagles have lost this year and the first time the group has failed to win a single game. What's more, the last two rallies were never even close, as EMU limited PBU to their worst hitting percentage of the season (.082), a drastic drop from their previous low of .182 that came against Johnson and Wales back on February 2.
"We definitely had our troubles hitting, blocking...everything," noted assistant coach Julie Brubaker. "Give credit to EMU - they played a great match. We just struggled to keep up with them tonight."
EMU - ranked 15th nationally - began the opening game by falling behind 2-4. But a 5-1 spurt over the next six points put the hosts up 7-5 over the 10th ranked Crimson Eagles. The biggest lead EMU would be able to create over the next five minutes would be three, as it seemed every Royal push would be greeted with a Crimson Eagle answer. PBU would tie things at 18-18 as both teams would find themselves once again deadlocked at 25. But a 5-2 Royal run to end the first rally gave EMU what would be their first of three victories on the day.
After giving Eastern Mennonite everything they could handle in the first game, PBU struggled to get things going in games two and three. EMU would jump out to a 13-8 advantage in the second rally and would increase their edge to 21-15. Another devastating run to close out game two - this time in the form of 9-5 - would give the Royals a 30-20 win.
Down 2-0, things would only worsen for PBU. The Crimson Eagles would begin game three by taking the first point, but it would be the only lead PBU would be able to generate. The Royals would soon go up 9-7 and would quickly increase the gap to 20-10 ignited by six PBU errors. EMU would go on to easily take the game and the match with a 30-19 victory in the final rally.
Friday's contest marks the first match of the season that PBU failed to walk off the court as the leader in kills, with EMU holding a slight advantage in the spike category, 40-38. The Royals also recorded a significant edge in digs, 50-34, and held a slight advantage in total team blocks (10.5 to 7) for the contest.
Freshman Justin Brubaker led PBU with 14 kills, eight digs, two aces, and two block assists. Sophomore Leandro Dueck chipped in eight kills, nine digs, and two aces, while first-year setter Drew Dillon added 30 assists and four digs in the loss.
The defeat marks the first in NECVA Western play for PBU, meaning the Crimson Eagles are currently tied with EMU atop the Western Division with similar 5-1 records. PBU is currently 19-3 on the season.
The Crimson Eagles will continue their trip south, heading to North Carolina to compete in a tri-match on Saturday beginning with play against host Lees-McRae College at noon and following up with a match against King's College at 2:00 pm.
