MAHWAH, NJ - No matter how great a season a team may have, the dangerous concept of a "one-and-done" tournament is exactly that - one loss, and you're done.
Unfortunately, the Crimson Eagles found out the hard way how devastating that can be early Saturday afternoon.
In the midst of perhaps the finest season in PBU men's volleyball history, the Crimson Eagles fell in the second round of the NECVA Tournament. After a 3-1 victory over #15 seed Baruch College late Friday night to help advance the group to the quarterfinals, PBU's magical 2008 season quickly came to a halt Saturday as the Crimson Eagles were upset against #10 seed Eastern Mennonite University 3-0. Last year's tournament runner-up quickly and efficiently disposed of the second ranked squad, downing PBU by scores of 30-28, 30-27, 30-26.
The Royals - who were hampered by several untimely injuries throughout the majority of the year and are undoubtedly much strong than their #10 ranking assums - plowed through the Crimson Eagles by getting it done on the defensive end. PBU was limited to a .117 team hitting percentage, marking their third lowest output of the season and just the fifth time on the year that the squad failed to hit the .200 mark.
PBU started off game one as planned, going up 3-0 off the bat and maintaining a 6-3 edge during the early minutes. But momentum would soon begin to shift as several attacking errors over the next few points would quickly help EMU even things at 7-all. With the rally once again tied at 10-10, the Royals made their first move. Five straight points helped EMU build up a 15-10 advantage, but an 11-5 run in PBU's favor quickly erased the Royal's efforts. The game continued to teeter back-and-forth and would once again see ties at 22-22 and later 28-28. But two EMU points to close out the contest gave the squad their first victory.
The second rally proved to be a heartbreaker. With PBU holding a 22-16 lead and what looked to be complete control, the Royals came firing back by rolling off eight of the next nine points to go up 24-23. A small six to four run to close out the set would give EMU a devastating come-from-behind victory in game two.
With their backs against the wall the Crimson Eagles responded by building up another early lead - this time securing a 15-11 advantage during the early going. But a pesky EMU squad refused to succumb and once again turned the tide by taking the next 10 of 12 points to go up 21-17. PBU fought tooth and nail to crawl back into things but would fail to lead again as EMU withstood a 6-2 Crimson Eagle spurt in the final minutes to walk away with a backbreaking 30-26 victory in the final rally.
Although the Crimson Eagles dealt EMU a 3-0 defeat back in early February, the loss marks the second blemish the Royals have handed PBU this season as EMU similarly swept the Crimson Eagles 3-0 back in mid March.
Western Division Player-of-the Year Justin Brubaker finished with 17 kills and nine digs, while sophomore Leo Dueck added 17 kills and five block assists. Rookie Drew Dillon chipped in 41 assists offensively and third year outside hitter Ben Fuller contributed 10 digs and one ace.
Despite the loss on Saturday, Friday's win over Baruch was a landmark victory for the program as it marks the first time the Crimson Eagles triumphed in a NECVA Tournament game.
The Crimson Eagles conclude 2008 with an overall record 24-6.
