MOUNT VERNON, Ohio -- Saturday afternoon, the Siena Heights men's volleyball team won its fourth-straight match with a 3-1 victory over Mount Vernon Nazarene. As a result, the Saints (9-2, 4-2 WHAC) improve to 4-2 in Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) to sit in the second spot of the conference standings.
Ramon Matos matched his career-high in kills with 23 to lead the attack for SHU. Matos finished the day with a hitting percentage of .321 while also leading at the net with nine blocks. Zak Tucker dished 36 assists, five digs, and two kills to help pace the offense's play. Joudiel Poveymirow hit a season-high 23 digs as he anchored the backline for Siena Heights. Shevin Blades totaled eight blocks and three kills to contribute to the win.
The teams traded points at the start of the first set up to tie the score multiple times to an 8-8 score. A service error gave SHU a 9-8 lead before a kill by MVNU sparked a 4-0 run and gave the Cougars a 12-9 advantage. The lead extended to five and stayed there to a 21-16 score. A 3-0 run for the Saints cut the deficit to one point, 21-20, and forced MVNU to call a timeout. However, the Cougars got a block out of the break to start a 3-0 run that pushed the score to 24-20. Siena Heights scored twice before MVNU ended the set to take the 1-0 lead.
The Saints jumped out to a 3-0 lead before building the advantage to 18-12 as the set progressed. MVNU recorded two 3-0 runs to cut the SHU advantage to 20-18, but the Saints held on to end the set with a kill by Matos and a block by Blades and Matos to tie the set score at one with a 25-21 win in the second set.
Siena doubled up Mount Vernon Nazarene to create an 8-4 lead. Three straight points caused SHU to call a timeout with 10-9. A ball-handling error by Siena Heights caused the score to tie at 10 points. Matos registered a kill to take an 11-10 lead before a 3-0 run by the Cougars flipped the lead to the home team, 13-11. The Saints rallied to tie the score at 13, 14, and 15. Another 3-0 run by MVNU took an 18-16 edge. The lead increased to 22-18, but Siena scored five-straight points to end the third with a 25-23 win and take the 2-1 lead.
The fourth was all Saints as they jumped to a 4-1 lead before building it to a 16-12 gap. SHU maintained the lead throughout the set despite a push to tie the score from the Cougars. Finally, a service error gave the Saints a 25-22 decision.
Up Next
The Saints remain on the road with a match against Indiana Tech next Saturday, February 19, at 3:00 p.m.
