ADRIAN, Mich. -- The Siena Heights men's volleyball team suffered its first setback of the season with a 3-1 loss to ninth-ranked Indiana Tech on Saturday night. The Saints (4-1, 0-1 WHAC) were in every set in the tightly fought battle but could not tally points down the stretch in the final three sets of the match.
Ramon Matos was a handful offensively as he recorded his second-most kills of the year with 19 to lead the way offensively for SHU. Marc Arsenault recorded ten kills (.381) along with three blocks. Zak Tucker paced play with 41 assists while also tallying two service aces and three blocks. Joudiel Poveymirow led the defensive backline with ten digs, while Jakob Pickett held the net with seven blocks.
Siena marched to a quick 4-1 lead in the opening set before the Warriors battled back to knot things up at five. The Saints eventually built a slight 17-13 lead that they increased to a 22-16 advantage. However, Indiana Tech used a 6-0 run to tie the score at 22. Matos registered a kill, and the Warriors gave a point with an attack error to give Siena the set point. Matos finished things with a kill two plays later, giving SHU the 25-23 decision and a 1-0 lead.
Indiana Tech came out scorching in the second set as the Warriors pulled away 12-6 early. The Saints cut things to three points, but they couldn't get any closer as Indiana Tech tied the set score at one game each with the 25-18 victory.
The third set was Siena's worst as they hit a .033 as a team while recording only 11 kills with ten errors. However, despite their struggles hitting, the Saints used a 5-0 run late to pull ahead 18-16. The Warriors eventually tied the score at 19 as the teams traded points up to a deadlock at 23. A kill by Indiana Tech gave the visitors set point, but a service error tied the score at 24. SHU held set point at 25-24, but an attack error put things even, and a service ace gave the set to Indiana Tech.
The Warriors used two 4-0 runs in the fourth frame to build a 17-11 lead, but the Saints held tough and cut that advantage to four points, 19-15, late. Indiana Tech outscored Siena 2-1 during the following nine points to come away with the win in the match.
Up Next
The Saints will remain at home to host Cornerstone on Wednesday, January 26. That match is scheduled for a 7:00 p.m. start time.
