SYLVANIA, Ohio -- The Siena Heights men's volleyball team split on the first day of the Lourdes Invitational. The Saints dropped the first match to Saint Ambrose (Iowa) in five sets before ending the day with a 3-0 win over Robert Morris (Ill.). Emilier De Jesus totaled 27 digs against the Fighting Bees and another 12 against the Eagles to lead the SHU defense.
THE BASICS
Line Scores: Match 1: Saint Ambrose 3, Siena Heights 2 (22-25, 19-25, 25-22, 28-26, 15-13) / Match 2: Siena Heights 3, Robert Morris 0 (25-15, 27-25, 25-17)
Location: Sylvania, Ohio (Ebeid Rec Center)
Record: Siena Heights (14-8)
HOW IT HAPPENED
Match 1: Saint Ambrose def. SHU, 3-2
The Saints jumped out to a 2-0 lead after an 18-kill (.351) first set and a 12-kill (.103) set two. Siena held Saint Ambrose to a -.033 hitting percentage in the second set to take the 2-0 lead. The Fighting Bees used a 4-0 run to finish the third set with a 25-22 win. Saint Ambrose hopped out to a 9-3 lead early. The Saints cut the deficit to 19-18 before tying things up a 23 and again at 24 to force extra points. The Fighting Bees tied things up at 26 and then scored two-straight points tie the match score and force a decisive fifth set. Siena Heights held a 5-2 lead in the fifth. Saint Ambrose tied things up at nine points. The score was tied again at 10, 11, and 12 before the Fighting Bees pulled away for a close 15-13 match point.
TOP SAINTS
• Bryce Johnson (Pickerington, Ohio) led the Saints with 17 kills.
• Keegan Crawford (Columbus, Ohio) finished the first match with 59 assists.
• De Jesus had 27 digs and four assists.
THE OPPOSITION
• Scott MacGillis led SAU with 25 kills and 11 digs.
• Jake Snyder tallied 54 assists.
• Dylan Herridge led with 14 digs.
Match 2: Siena Heights def. Robert Morris (Ill.), 3-0
Siena Heights pulled ahead 15-7 in the opening set. The Eagles used a 5-0 run to bring the score to 15-12, but the Saints extended the lead back to 23-14 before taking the 1-0 lead with a 25-15 set-one win. Siena Heights pulled ahead by four points, but Robert Morris (Ill.) rallied to tie things at 24 to force extras in set two. After the teams traded points, SHU finished with a 2-0 lead after a 27-25 win. The Saints used a 4-0 run to gain a 4-1 lead. The Eagles recorded their own 4-0 run retake the lead, 5-4. A 6-0 lead gave SHU an 11-6 and the Saints never looked back, winning the match with a 25-17 decision in set three.
TOP SAINTS
• Kevin Gomez (La Estrella, Colombia) led Siena with 10 kills.
• Crawford paced the attack with 25 assists.
• De Jesus added 12 digs to his daily total.
THE OPPOSITION
• Conrad Para led the Eagles with 15 kills.
• Charles Norman finished with 24 assists.
• Elijah Peppers led eight digs.
UP NEXT
The Saints finish the Lourdes Invitational with a match against Saint Andrews (N.C.) tomorrow (Feb 29) at 11:30 a.m., EST.
