CINCINNATI -- The Sien Heights men's volleyball team fell in five sets to Mount Saint Joseph on the road on Sunday afternoon at the Harrington Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Saints (13-4) struggled with hitting in the match with a .094 team hitting percentage in the losing effort.
Ramon Matos led offensively for the Saints with 19 kills. Matos was two digs away from recording a double-double on the afternoon. Alex Garavalia finished with ten kills and four digs. Zak Tucker paced the play with 38 assists, seven digs, and five kills. Joudiel Poveymirow led defensively with 24 digs.
Siena surrendered a 9-6 lead in the first set when the Lions rattled off a 4-0 run to claim a 10-9 lead early in the match. The teams traded points to tie the score at 10 and 11 until two-straight points for MSJ put the score at 13-11. The Saints stayed close and tied the set twice more at 16 and 17 points before pulling ahead to a 20-17 edge. Three-straight points knotted things up at 20 before SHU responded with three points of their own to hold a 23-20 advantage. Shevin Blades gave the Saints the set point with a kill that put the score at 24-20. A service error by the Lions gave SHU the 1-0 lead.
The score remained close in the first part of the second set until a 3-0 run pushed the advantage in the Saints' direction with a 14-10 lead. MSJ cut the margin to one point (14-13) before using a 3-0 run to push ahead, 17-16. SHU recaptured the lead with a 3-0 run that put the score at 19-17, but the Lions were able to tie the score at 19 to stay in the set. The tally was even four more times at 19, 20, 22, and 23. Matons then recorded a kill that gave SHU the set point before an attack error gave the Saints the 2-0 lead.
MSJ built a 6-2 lead in the third, but SHU cut the deficit to a single point, 6-5. The Lions maintained a slight three-point lead until a service error by Siena started a 3-0 run that pushed the MSJ advantage to 14-9. A kill began a 4-0 run for the Lions, and the lead increased to eight points. Matos, Blades, and Tucker tallied a kill during a 4-0 run that brought SHU with five points of tying things up at 20-15. Another Saint service error started a 3-0 run for MSJ, and the score sat at 23-15. SHU's two straight errors gave the set to Mount Saint Joseph as the score sat at 2-1.
A 7-3 lead for the Lions similarly began the fourth set to the third. The lead for MSJ sat around four points for the middle stretch of the set until a 3-0 run started by a kill from Matos brought Siena to a 14-13 deficit. Mount Saint Joseph responded with a 3-0 run to get the margin back to four points. The lead increased to six points after another 3-0 run by the Lions put the score at 22-16. An attack error by the Saints gave MSJ the set point, but SHU fought for two more points before the Lions earned the decision in the fourth to move the game to a decisive fifth set.
The teams traded the first four points of the fifth set. A kill by Rasi Bailey tied the score at two points and was the starting point for a 3-0 run that gave SHU a 4-2 lead. Back-to-back kills for the Lions knotted things at five points. The teams again traded points up to a tie at 11. A kill followed by two attack errors by the Saints gave the Lions the match point with a 14-11 edge. Matos earned a kill to spark a 3-0 run for SHU that tied the score at 14 and forced extra points. A kill by MSJ gave the home team the match point again, and another kill finished the match in favor of the Lions.
Up Next
The Saints return home to host the eighth-ranked Lourdes Grey Wolves on Wednesday, March 16, at 7:00 p.m.
