ST. DAVIDS, Pa. – The Cairn University men's volleyball team traveled to St. Davids for a non-conference tri-match hosted by Eastern University on Saturday afternoon. The Highlanders fell to the host Eagles, 3-0 (25-21, 25-17, 25-23) in match one, before finishing off Brooklyn College in the nightcap in straight sets (25-14, 25-15, 25-12).
"The first match today was a tough loss." remarked Head Coach
Matt Bruder.
"It's never fun knowing you left so many points out there. Great job from everybody getting right back to work and taking the second match of the day. We picked ourselves up and took a convincing win."
Cairn (2-5) battled with host Eastern (5-7) in the first match of the day. The first set was hotly contested, as both teams reached a stalemate at 18-all near the end of the frame. The Eagles utilized a four-point run to take the set and a 1-0 match lead. After Eastern won set two (25-17), the Highlanders trailed 24-20 at match point in set three, before making a run to the tune of three-straight points to try to send the match to tiebreak, but junior
Will Nase's (Harleysville, PA / Souderton Area) serve missed, granting the Eagles the victory.
Cairn was led offensively in match one by Nase, who slammed down a season-high nine kills to pace the Highlanders. Nase was followed by freshman
Moses Gamble (Rocklin, CA / Rocklin HS) with seven kills, while seniors
Joshua Hoagland (Chiang Rai, Thailand / Chiang Rai International Christian School) and
Cameron Cronk (Quakertown, PA / Quakertown Community) added six kills a-pop. Freshman
Josh Adler (Levittown, PA / Neshaminy HS) handed out a team-high 22 assists, while senior
Josh Moyer (Quakertown, PA / Quakertown Community) led the defense with six digs.
Match two started out to a much different tune, as Cairn led 16-12 over Brooklyn (4-5) at the midway point of set one. The Highlanders rattled off seven-straight points to firmly take control of the set and claimed a 1-0 match lead. Leading 12-8 in set two, Cairn posted another similar run, this time striking five-straight points, including four consecutive kills in the rally, to claim the second set. Cairn finished off the match with a commanding 25-12 win in set three to finish off the sweep.
Senior
Caleb Horning (Adamstown, PA / Cocalico) led the Cairn attack in match two with a match-high six kills, while Nase followed with five kills. Seniors
Jake Tolar (Fort Mill, SC / Nation Ford) and
Austin Tea (Rochester, NY / Greece Athena) each tallied four kills a-piece, while classmate
Shea Scott (Harleysville, PA / Souderton Area) dished out a match-high 19 assists to pair with three blocks. Sophomore
Kobe Cash (Yardley, PA / Calvary Christian Academy) manned the back row with a match-high 10 digs for Cairn.
The Highlanders will be back on the floor on Thursday, February 16 when they travel to Aston for a non-conference bout with Neumann University, looking for the season sweep against the Knights at 7 p.m.
