ASTON, Pa. – The Cairn University men's volleyball team picked up their second-straight victory with a four-set triumph (25-13, 25-16, 19-25, 25-13) on the road at non-conference foe Neumann University on Thursday evening, sweeping the season series with the Knights.
"Overall, tonight was a clean win." remarked Head Coach
Matt Bruder.
"I'm thrilled with our ability to move past that third set loss and dominate in that last set."
Cairn (3-5) had the offense moving effectively early against Neumann (3-8), as the Highlanders hit .500 in set one, with just one error in the frame, and claimed a commanding 25-13 victory in the opening set to take a 1-0 match lead. The Highlanders opened up strongly again in set two, racing out to a 7-1 lead, and posted another easy victory to take a 2-0 advantage. The Knights battled formidably, claiming the third frame to send the match to a fourth set. Neumann held tight with the Highlanders in set four, trailing just 10-9 near the midway point, but a seven-point sprint off a serving run by senior
Joshua Hoagland (Chaing Rai, Thailand / Chiang Rai International) gave Cairn the momentum it needed to finish off the match.
Cairn was led offensively by junior
Will Nase (Harleysville, PA / Souderton), who hammered home a team-high nine kills to pair with 11 digs. Senior
Caleb Horning (Adamstown, PA / Cocalico) followed with eight kills to the tune of a .538 hitting percentage, while junior
Joe Poirier (Nogyang, South Korea / Holden Christian Academy) matched Horning with eight kills and a team-high four blocks. Senior
Austin Tea (Rochester, NY / Greece Athena) manned the defense for Cairn, scooping up a team-high 12 digs to pair with four kills. Freshman
Josh Adler (Levittown, PA / Neshaminy) ran the offense effectively, dishing out a team-high 29 assists in the win.
The Highlanders will be back on the court on Thursday, February 23 when they return home to welcome non-conference opponent Widener University to Langhorne for a tilt inside the Mason Activity Center at 7 p.m.
