Box Score
LANGHORNE, PA - With both PBU and Eastern Mennonite University entering Tuesday night's match flawless in conference play thus far, both squads were well aware of the significance of their mid-season tango.
But fueled a brilliant hitting clinic, Tuesday's dance proved to be a bit one-sided.
The Crimson Eagles smashed 50 kills during a 3-0 sweep over the Royals, knocking down spikes at a highly efficient clip of .439 - a mark that signals their second-best effort of the season. PBU doubled EMU's kill effort as the visitors ended with just 25 to their credit throughout the night on a .088 attack percentage.
The host squad's triumph by scores of 30-13, 30-15, 30-21 was also made possible thanks to a 7-1 edge in service aces for the evening.
During the opening rally, the Royals would scrap to keep things at 6-apiece within the first five minutes of play. But play would quickly deteriorate for EMU as the group would helplessly watch PBU rattle off an 11-3 spurt to move ahead 17-9. A Royal timeout would temporarily slow the bleeding, but another devastating 7-2 run to close out the match would give the Crimson Eagles a 1-0 lead.
Set number two would prove to be a similar story. EMU would momentarily keep things at 9-all, but sparked by a flurry of Justin Brubaker kills, the Crimson Eagles soon rolled out to a 24-12 edge before dishing their counterpart a 30-15 loss.
In game three, PBU moved ahead 9-8 before ballooning their edge to 21-15 several minutes later. EMU would manage to close the gap to 22-18 but it would be all the Royals could muster as the Crimson Eagles would generate a 30-21 win in the final rally.
Brubaker once again finished with a game high mark in the kill department as the third year hitter would pound 18 kills and 11 digs for the night. Senior Leo Dueck added a double-double effort as well, posting 11 and 12, respectively. Third year setter Drew Dillon dished out 43 assists while tallying five kills, and sophomore Jeff Stauffer added nine stops defensively. Senior Cory Ermold had an extremely efficient evening, knocking down seven spikes in eight attempts.
The win helps keep the Crimson Eagles atop the NECVA Western Division standings with one final match left within divisional play. PBU moves to 15-4 on the year with the Royals slip to 4-8.
The volleyball team will return to Langhorne for the second time this week on Friday when the group hosts D'Youville College in the Mason Activity Center at 7:00 pm.
