LANGHORNE, Pa. – The Cairn University men's volleyball team picked up their first victory of the 2023 season via a 3-0 (25-13, 25-21, 25-22) sweep of non-conference adversary Neumann University inside the Mason Activity Center on Thursday evening. The win marked the first career collegiate head coaching victory for first-year Head Coach
Matt Bruder.
"Tonight's win was a true team effort." remarked Bruder.
"I'm so proud of the hard work this team put in this week. Every single player stepped up, and showed that we can bring the same level of play regardless of who's on the floor. Now we have to get back to work and prepare for Saturday."
Cairn (1-4) set the pace early, storming out to a 10-2 lead over Neumann (1-7). The Highlanders held a 19-11 edge at the midway point, before closing the set on a 6-2 run to take a 1-0 match lead. Cairn made a full substitution in sets two and three, but the Highlander reserves proved to be up to the task, duking out a 25-22 win in set two to take a 2-0 match lead. Neumann tried to make a late push in the third set, only trailing 23-21 near the end of the frame, but a service error, followed up by one final kill by freshman
Moses Gamble (Rocklin, CA / Rocklin HS) sealed the straight-set triumph for Cairn.
Cairn was led offensively by Gamble, who hammered home a match-high nine kills to pace Cairn, while junior
Noah Ruiz Esparza (Levittown, PA / Tabor College) followed with six kills. Freshman
Josh Adler (Levittown, PA / Neshaminy HS) dished out a match-high 16 assists, while senior
Austin Tea (Rochester, NY / Greece Athena HS) and junior
Kobe Cash (Yardley, PA / Calvary Christian Academy) headed the back row with 10 digs a-piece.
The Highlanders will be back on the floor on Saturday, February 11 when they hit the road for a non-conference tri-match hosted by Eastern University. The Highlanders will battle with the Eagles at 11 a.m. before they take on Brooklyn College immediately following at 1 p.m.
