Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 | Box Score 3 Cincinnati, OH- The Cairn Highlanders traveled to Ohio for the CVC Crossover and dropped their first match to Dominican University by a score of 3-1.  Cairn faced off against the tournament host Lions of Mount St. Joseph College in their second match on Saturday and they again were unable to achieve a win, falling 3-2.  But, the Highlanders were able to grab a win in the tournament when the played the Milwaukee School of Engineering Sunday morning.  In a tight match that ended 3-2, Cairn was able to pick up a win in the very competitive CVC Crossover tournament.

Box Score (Dominican)  Box Score (Mount St. Joseph)  Box Score (Milwaukee School of Engineering) 



In the Highlanders first match against Dominican University, Cairn was able to win the first set by a score of 25-23.  The two teams traded points for virtually the entire set until, with Cairn trailing 22-23, the Highlanders middle Randall Colson stepped up with a huge kill and block to give the Highlanders a victory in the first set.  Cairn was unable to build on the momentum from the first set though, and fell in the next three consecutive sets, losing to the Stars of Dominican University, 25-19, 25-17, and 25-14, and falling 3-1 in the match.

 Cairn's top performers in the first match against Dominican University were:

Ryan Garven (17 kills, 4 digs, 2 blocks)
Josiah Buss (11 kills, 8 digs)
Randall Colson (7 kills, 3 blocks)
Jon Wilson (30 assists)

Cairn battled Mount St. Joseph College and heart-breakingly fell to the tournament host Lions, 3-2, regardless of a two set lead.  The Highlanders won the first set against the Lions fairly easily by a score of 25-21.  With the Highlanders leading, the drama greatly picked up in the second set.  Cairn and Mount St. Joseph fought to an even score of 17-18 in the early stages, when two kills from Ryan Garven and Randall Colson  sandwiched by two Mount St. Joseph errors gave the Highlanders enough breathing room to pull away with a 25-23 victory in the second set.  With Cairn leading 2-0, the Highlanders stretched the Lions all the way to the wire; trailing 24-22, Cairn illustrated their resiliency and tied the affair at 24-all.  Unfortunately, the Highlanders were unable to come all the way back and gave the Lions their first set victory 26-24.  The Highlanders certainly felt the effects of this back-breaking loss and simply could not find the fortitude to finish the match, falling to the Lions in the next two sets, 25-20 and 15-10, dealing the Highlanders a wrenching 3-2 victory.  

Cairn had a number of excellent individual performances in their second match though, and those players were:

Ryan Garven (25 kills, 5 digs, 5 blocks)
Josiah Buss (16 kills, 15 digs, 2 blocks)
Randall Colson (11 kills, 8 blocks)
Michael Emond (3 kills, 10 digs)
Jon Wilson (52 assists, 6 digs, 4 blocks)

Cairn, as a fairly inexperienced team, was able to show great promise and learn from the previous two matches.  Undeterred by two losses, and a tense third match, the Highlanders exhibited their improvement by defeating the Raiders of the Milwaukee School of Engineering, 3-2.  Cairn again took a two set lead over their opponent, winning the first two sets by scores of 25-22, and 26-24.  When the Raiders took the next two sets with relative ease, 25-19 and 25-20, the Highlanders had to be having flashbacks to the previous days events.  Notwithstanding the two previous losses, Cairn was able to keep their heads high, and lean on their most consistent performers, Garven and Buss, to close out the third set.  When a Jeff Bishop kill ended the contest, Cairn walked off with a 15-11 victory in the fifth set, and at last, that elusive victory the Highlanders had been seeking.

Cairn used every ounce of their talent to achieve this victory, and the top performers were: 

Ryan Garven (17 kills, 5 digs, 2 blocks)
Josiah Buss (14 kills, 6 digs)
Michael Emond (3 kills, 18 digs, 2 blocks)
Jeff Bishop (6 kills, 5 blocks)
Jon Wilson (37 assists, 4 digs, 4 blocks)

Cairn will host Penn State- Altoona and York College (NY) this Saturday in a Tri-Match at the Mason Activity Center.  The first game begins at 2:00 PM between Cairn and PSU-Altoona.