Harrisonburg, VA – Cairn University men's volleyball lost their third CVC match of the season on Friday night as they traveled to Eastern Mennonite University to take on the Royals. Eastern Mennonite defeated Cairn in three sets, all with scores of 25-16, to improve to 7-5 overall.
 
David Dager and Andy Willits led the team in attacking with five kills each, while Micah Godshall and Dan Winters each finished with four. Ryan Ludvik led the team defensively with 12 digs, while Winters finished with four blocks. Matthew Gump collected 17 assists for the Highlanders.
 
The Highlanders hit 23 total kills in the match, compared to the Royals' 38. Scott Brigham finished with eight kills for the Royals and he was followed by Hunter Taylor with six. Christian Taylor collected 29 assists, while Colton Frey led the team with 10 digs.
 
Cairn could not gain a foothold in any of the three sets against the Royals, including from the service line. This game was the first of the season in which the Highlanders did not have an ace. However, the Highlanders had a good start to the third set and tied the game at 9-9. Unfortunately the Royals went on a 7-0 run from there and didn't look back.
 
With the loss, Cairn dropped to 2-5 overall and 0-3 in the CVC. Eastern Mennonite improved to 2-1 in the conference with the win. The Highlanders will next play tomorrow as they travel to Marymount University to take on the Saints and Bluefield College (Va.) in a tri-match.