Photo Courtesy of Mike Dickie
Posted: Feb 18, 2021
This Week for SHU Men's Volleyball
Fri., Feb. 19: #10 Indiana Tech *
5 PM | SHU Fieldhouse
Sun., Feb. 21: #4 Lourdes *
2 PM | SHU Fieldhouse
Upcoming for Saints Men's Volleyball: The Saints have two Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) matches against ranked opponents this week, both at home. The first is Friday, February 19 against No. 10 Indiana Tech, the second against No. 4 Lourdes on Sunday, February 21.
Head Coach: Chris McKim makes his coaching debut for the Saints after taking the reigns from Kim Berrington back in December of 2020.
Protect This House: The Saints are 50-41 at home since 2010. The Saints' five-game home winning streak was snapped last week in the season-opening loss to Mount Vernon Nazarene.
Strong 3rd Set: Siena Heights is outscoring opponents 50-39 in the third set of matches this season. They are also a perfect 2-0 in that set this season. The Saints are hitting .357 in the third set--the team's best hitting percentage based on sets.
Slow Starts: SHU is 0-2 in opening sets so far in 2021. The Saints are being outscored in the first 50-40. The team's hitting percentage in the opening set of the match sits at .087 through the first two matches of 2021.
WHAC Weekly Honors: Seniors Alex Garavalia and Keegan Crawford were named the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Attacker and Setter of the Week, respectively. Garavalia had 38 kills in two matches last week, while Crawford dished out 80 assists in two matches, in which the Saints went 1-1.
Last Week Recap: MVNU 3, SHU 1
The Saints opened their season Friday with a setback to Mt. Vernon Nazarene, 25-20, 25-17, 23-25, 25-22. Alex Garavalia had 17 kills, Joudiel Poveymirow 17 digs, and Keegan Crawford 36 assists for SHU.
SHU 3, Adrian 1
The Saints (1-1) got new head coach Chris McKim his first victory as they topped Adrian Saturday in non-conference action (20-25, 25-18, 25-16, 25-19). Alex Garavalia had a career-high 21 kills, Kevin Gomez 15 digs and Keegan Crawford 44 assists for SHU.
Series History: Indiana Tech: Siena Heights won the only previous meeting with the Warriors 3-0. That meeting took place last season on Feb. 12, 2020, at the Siena Heights University Fieldhouse.
Lourdes: This will be the 26th meeting between the Saints and the Gray Wolves in men's volleyball. Lourdes holds a 24-1 edge in the all-time series. The lone Saints win came in 2018 at the SHU Fieldhouse when Siena Heights upset the Gray Wolves in five sets.
Scouting Reports: Indiana Tech: Dante Siracusa leads the Warriors with 49 kills (1.75 kills/s). Chandler Davis sets the tone with 58 assists (9.57 assists/set). Mason Milan is the leader on defense with 63 digs (1.97/s). Chase Christiansen tops the block category with 35 total (17/18).
Lourdes: Jeff Lam has 61 kills (4.59/s) to lead Lourdes in that stat. Henrique Gehrke paces the attack with 167 assists (9.82/s). Guga Heidrich is the defensive leader with 79 digs (4.16/s) and Harrison McBean has registered 16 total blocks (4/12).
Siena Heights: Alex Garavalia leads the Saints attack with 38 kills so far this season. He is averaging 4.75 kills per set and holds the highest hitting percentage of .286. Keegan Crawford paces SHU's offense with 80 assists. He has 10.00 assists per set through the first two matches. Joudiel Poveymirow leads defensively with 28 digs (3.50 dig/s). Jakob Pickett leads at the net with eight total blocks (1/7).
