GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Siena Heights men's volleyball team defeated Cornerstone on the road in straight sets on Wednesday night. The Saints (10-3, 6-3 WHAC) improve to 6-3 in league play with the victory and sweep the season series against the Golden Eagles.
Shevin Blades and Jakob Pickett were a force at the net for SHU as they each finished the evening with five blocks to lead in that category. As a team, Siena Heights total 22 blocks, with Alex Garavalia and Zak Tucker each gaining four, Ramon Matos had three, and Marc Arsenault tallied one. Matos also led offensively with 15 kills while Tucker added 39 assists to his stat line. Joudiel Poveymirow continued to anchor the backline and led SHU with seven digs.
The opening set was close throughout as the Saints could only muster a four-point lead, and the score tied multiple times, including at 24 points as Cornerstone used two-straight points to force extras. Arsenault registered a kill to retake set point before Pickett finished things with a kill to earn the 1-0 lead with a 26-24 decision.
The second wasn't as close as the first, as the Saints pulled ahead 3-0 before slowly building a 24-14 lead. Siena would be gifted the 2-0 lead with an attack error the settled things at 25-15.
The Golden Eagles were in control during the first half of the third set as they built an 18-14 advantage. Arsenault registered a kill that ignited a 5-0 run and flipped the lead to SHU, 19-18. Cornerstone tied things up with a kill before taking control with a 4-0 run that put them ahead 23-20. Matos responded with back-to-back kills that began a 3-0 run and knotted the score at 23. A service error lent The Golden Eagles set point before giving it back with an attack error that had the third going to extra points. A kill had Cornerstone on the cusp of taking a set, but Matos had one final kill in him to tie the score before he finished the match with a service ace.
Up Next
The Saints will look to split the season series with Goshen this Saturday, February 26, when the Maple Leafs come to town. The Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference matchup begins at 3:00 p.m., EST.
