ELGIN, Ill. -- The Siena Heights men's volleyball team split on day two of the Judson Tournament for an overall record of 3-1 for the two-day tournament. The Saints began the day with a four-set win over Lincoln (Ill.) before a four-set loss to Mount Mercy finished the tournament. Keegan Crawford paced the SHU attack with 76 assists for the day.
THE BASICS
Final Scores: Game 1: Siena Heights 3, Lincoln (Ill.) 1 (24-26, 25-23, 25-17, 25-23) | Game 2: Mount Mercy 3, Siena Heights 1 (25-22, 25-20, 24-26, 25-19)
Location: Elgin, Illinois (Lindner Fitness Center)
Record: Siena Heights (7-3)
HOW IT HAPPENED
Lincoln (Ill.) bested the Saints in the opening set of the first match when the team won in extras 26-24. Siena bounced back with a 14-kill (.393) performance in the second game to tie the set score at one apiece. Set three was the Saints best as they tallied 15 kills and had a hitting percentage of .448, the highest of the match, on the way to a 25-17 decision and a 2-1 advantage in sets. SHU held the Lynx to just .062 hitting in the fourth set to close out the match.
Mount Mercy jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the Saints final match of the tournament. Siena rallied back in the third set with a 26-24 win to cut the deficit to 2-1 in the set score. Mount Mercy would end the rally in the fourth set with a 25-19 win.
TOP SAINTS
• Emmanuel Chaidez led the Saints attack in the first match with 14 kills. He also contributed defensively with four blocks.
• Evan Cashen and Alex Garavalia totaled 12 kills against Lincoln (Ill.). Cashen added 12 digs, a team-high, to his stat line in the first match.
• Crawford finished with 44 of his total assists in the opener of day two.
• Emilier De Jesus led in kills (11) and digs (19) against Mount Mercy.
THE OPPOSITION
• Charles Carter led Lincoln in kills with 15. Nick Washington and Bryan Orellana split the setting duties with 19 assists each. Trenton Kielion and Jack Lindner each finished with 11 digs.
• Mount Mercy was led by Nikola Stoimenov with 16 kills. Andrew Colantone completed 37 assists and Mitchell Wannahwilai recorded 15 digs.
UP NEXT
The Saints return to Illinois next Friday, February 15 to face Saint Xavier (Ill.) at 8:00 p.m.
