SYLVANIA, Ohio – The Siena Heights men's volleyball team was eliminated from the WHAC tournament after a 3-1 loss to Indiana Tech in the semifinals on Friday evening. Keegan Crawford led the Saints with a double-double with 40 assists and 16 digs.
THE BASICS
Final Score: Indiana Tech 3, Siena Heights 1 (15-25, 31-29, 25-20, 25-19)
Location: Sylvania, Ohio (Ebeid Recreation Center)
Records: Indiana Tech (16-4), Siena Heights (11-7)
HOW IT HAPPENED
With the score at 10-9 in favor of the Warriors, Kevin Gomez registered a kill that sparked an 11-0 run by the Saints that put SHU in the lead 20-10. Alex Garavalia led the way for Siena in the first set with five kills in the 25-15 win in set one.
A series of small runs by Indiana Tech built a lead of 17-11 in the second set. The Saints rallied back with a 4-0 run to bring the score to 17-15 before eventually tying things at 20. The Warriors held set-point with a 24-22 lead, but SHU scored two straight points to tie the score at 24 and force extra points. Each team traded the set-point advantage up to a tie at 27. The Saints held it at 28-27 and 29-28 but couldn't capitalize. Indiana Tech took the set-point lead at 30-29 and pulled out the win on the following point to tie the match at one game apiece.
The Warriors scored the first two points of the third and never trailed for the rest of the way. The lead grew as high as five points (19-14), but the Saints battled back to get within two points of tying things up,20-18, however, the Warriors held on for the 25-20 win to take a 2-1 lead in the set score.
There were seven ties in the fourth set, the final was at eight points. From there, the Warriors built and maintained a small lead. The Saints kept things within a few points for most of the set until a 3-0 run by Indiana Tech pushing things to 24-16 late.
TOP SAINTS
• Bryce Johnson led the Saints attack with 15 kills. He also added six digs, three service aces, one assist, and one block.
• Alex Garavalia tallied a double-double with 13 kills and 12 digs.
• Kevin Gomez also finished with double-digit kills with 11. He also finished with seven digs.
• Joudiel Poveymirow led defensively with 19 digs. He contributed with four assists.
THE OPPOSITION
• Daynte Stewart led the Warriors with 14 kills.
• Chase Christiansen had 12 kills.
• Joey Hermes had 21 digs.
SEASON WRAP UP
The Saints finish the season with an 11-7 overall record. They earned the number three seed in the WHAC tournament.
