ELGIN, Ill. -- After dropping their first game to Mount Mercy (Iowa), the Siena Heights men's volleyball team bounced back and swept Judson (Ill.), Menlo (Calif.) and Campbellsville (Ky.) in the Early Bird Tournament hosted by Judson, on Friday and Saturday.
MATCH ONE: MOUNT MERCY 3, SIENA HEIGHTS 0 - Set scores: 25-23, 25-13, 28-26
The Saints kept the Mutangs on their toes in the first and third set of the match, but it wasn't enough as SHU fell in all three sets in the first game of the tournament. Kyle Brown led the Saints with 10 kills and six digs as Keegan Crawford earned 24 assists and Jack Pranckus managed eight digs. Tyler Hubbard-Neil finished the game with five service aces, adding nine kills in the match. For Mount Mercy, Strahil Svilenski had 10 kills as Ben Ruggles and Andrew Colantone each earned 17 assists.
MATCH TWO: SIENA HEIGHTS 3, JUDSON 0 - Set scores: 25-15, 25-20, 25-20
Again leading SHU in kills was Browne, earning 14 kills. Hubbard-Neil took the lead in service aces with four along with adding nine kills. In the back row, Pranckus dug 10 shots as Crawford earned 32 assists. For the Eagles, Manny Andrade and Jordan Von Borstel finished with 12 and 10 kills, respectively. Ryan VanThyne had 26 assists.
MATCH THREE: SIENA HEIGHTS 3, MENLO 0 - Set scores: 25-20, 28-26, 25-18
In the second day of action, Siena Heights evenly contributes the attack. Browne led with 10 kills as Hubbard-Neil and Alex Garavalia each earned eight kills. Five different Saints earned a service while Pranckus had nine digs and three others managed eight. Crawford again was the lead setter with 30 assists. The Oaks' Brad Sawin and Akash Dhothar had eight kills each as Shea Filardo earned 26 assists.
MATCH FOUR: SIENA HEIGHTS 3, CAMPBELLSVILLE 0 - Set scores: 25-16, 25-15, 25-20
In the final match of the weekend, Hubbard-Neil led SHU with 10 kills and eight digs. Crawford helped SHU with 25 assists and four kills as Pranckus managed eight digs. Browne finished the game with nine kills. The Tigers were led by Rafael Crus with 11 kills as Noel Camello earned 10 digs. Diego Romero earned the team-high 17 assists.
Earning a place on the All-Tournament Team was Tyler Hubbard-Neil. The Saints improve to 5-1 on the season, looking to start conference play next week.
Siena Heights will return to action on Wednesday as the Saints host Lawrence Tech in their first conference match of the season. Opening serve is set for 7 p.m.
