ADRIAN, Mich. -- The Siena Heights men's volleyball team started the 2019 campaign with wins over Lawrence Tech and Olivet on day one of the Michigan Men's Volleyball Invitational hosted by Adrian College. The Saints started the tournament with a 3-1 win over Lawrence Tech before finishing the day with a three-set sweep of Olivet. Sophomore Alex Garavalia led the SHU attack with 24 kills on the day.
THE BASICS
Final Scores: Game 1: Siena Heights 3, Lawrence Tech 1 (23-25, 25-16, 25-16 25-11) | Game 2: Siena Heights 3, Olivet 0 (25-18, 25-20, 25-16)
Location: Adrian, Michigan (Merillat Sports and Fitness Center)
Record: Siena Heights (2-0), Lawrence Tech (0-2), Olivet (0-2)
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Blue Devils took a quick 1-0 lead over the Saints in the day's first match with a 25-23 decision. Siena tallied a team attack percentage of .136 in the defeat. Garavalia matched his set one kill total with six in set two as the Saints knotted the set score up with a 25-16 win in the second set.
SHU had attack percentages of .346 and .391 in sets three and four to finish the match with a .250 hitting total as a team. The defense held Lawrence Tech to a .076 hitting percentage for the match.
The Saints used a .345 attack percentage to jump out to a 1-0 lead over Olivet in the second match of the day. The Comets hit .075 and -.026 in sets two and three as Siena marched to a 3-0 sweep of Olivet to improve to 2-0 on the young season.
TOP SAINTS
• Garavalia's stat line at the end of the day read 24 kills, two assists, one service ace, 13 digs, and five total blocks.
• Bryce Johnson tallied 19 kills in the two matches including an 11 kill showing against Olivet. He registered an assist, a service ace, nine digs, and four blocks.
• Keegan Crawford paced the Siena offense with 40 assists in the first win and 34 in the second for a total of 74 on the day. He also contributed six kills against Lawrence Tech and two service aces versus the Comets.
• Emmanuel Chaidez was a force on defense with five blocks against Olivet and two against the Blue Devils for a total of seven.
• Emilier De Jesus was the leader on defense with 20 digs on the evening including an 11 dig performance in the match against the Comets.
THE OPPOSITION
• Joshua Eckert led LTU with 10 kills, Gospel Sua was the leading setter with 21 assists, Stefan Sretenovic led the Blue Devils with 10 digs, and Joseph Blanda tallied three blocks.
• Trent Robinson was the leading Comet offensive playmaker with 10 kills, Aaron Giorgi dished 23 assists, Brock Pringle tallied 11 digs, and Dan Hayes recorded three blocks.
