The Lancaster Bible College men's volleyball team dropped a tri-match on its home floor on Saturday, losing to two ranked teams at Horst Athletic Center. The Chargers fell in the opener, 3-0 to third-ranked Stevens and then lost to 10th-ranked Eastern Mennonite in the afternoon, 3-1.
 
Stevens 3, Lancaster Bible 0
25-19, 25-12, 25-11
 
How it Happened: Stevens, the third-ranked team in NCAA Division III, opened the match on a 5-1 run, but Lancaster Bible chipped away at the deficit and eventually trailed just 8-7 after a kill from freshman Jacob Faust and an ace from fellow freshman Kole Horst. The Ducks responded and won seven of the next eight points for a 15-8 lead.
 
Lancaster Bible hung in the set the best it could and trailed just 22-17 after two straight errors by the Ducks, but Stevens would eventually close out the Chargers, 25-19 to take the first set.
 
The teams went back-and-forth to open the second set, but the Ducks pulled away midway through the set and turned a 14-9 advantage into a 19-9 lead and never looked back, winning the second frame, 25-12.
 
Stevens showed why its ranked third in the country in the third set as the Ducks won nine of 11 points early in the set and led 14-5 after a kill from Jordan Stuart. The Chargers did what they could, but lost the final set, 25-11.
 
By the Numbers: Lancaster Bible had 16 kills and 22 errors on 74 attempts, while the Ducks had 40 kills and 12 errors on 72 attempts...Junior Kasey Gentry led the Chargers with five kills and four digs…Senior Derek Bigley, sophomore Daniel Kreider and Horst each had three kills, while freshman Kaleb Ansell had 15 assists and three digs…Ian Bennett led the Ducks with 10 kills.
 
Information Hodge Podge: Lancaster Bible is now 0-2 all-time against Stevens…The loss to the Ducks was the Chargers first loss at Horst Athletic Center this season…Lancaster Bible had a negative hitting percentage for the first time all season.
 
Eastern Mennonite 3, Lancaster Bible 1
25-19, 25-27, 25-22, 25-23
 
How it Happened: The Royals opened a 10-4 lead early in the first set, but the Chargers chipped away and trailed, 14-10 after an error by Eastern Mennonite. The teams exchanged points and Lancaster Bible trailed just 19-16 after another attack error from the Royals. Lancaster Bible could not get closer though and lost the opening set, 25-19.
 
The second set was a terrific one as the Chargers jumped out to an 8-3 lead and then pushed it to a 15-9 advantage a few points later. Eastern Mennonite proved why it's a top-10 team and took a 20-19 lead on a kill from Tim Callahan. The Royals moved the lead to 24-21, but after a kill from Jacob Faust, freshman Cameron Conkle stepped up to serve.
 
Conkle drilled three straight serves which eventually led to three straight attack errors from Eastern Mennonite and the Chargers eventually won the set, 27-25.
 
Lancaster Bible rode the momentum to a 4-0 lead in the third set, but Eastern Mennonite rebounded and grabbed a 10-7 lead on a Lancaster Bible attack error. The teams once again engaged in a back-and-forth and Lancaster Bible trailed just 20-19 after a service error from the Royals. Eastern Mennonite took a 24-21 a few points later and after a kill from Kole Horst cut the Chargers' deficit to 24-22, Eastern Mennonite took the third set on a Chargers' hitting error.
 
The fourth set looked just like the second and third as the teams battled for the entire set. The Chargers led early in the set, but Eastern Mennonite grabbed the lead midway through and Lancaster Bible didn't tie the set again until a kill from Gentry and an attack error from the Royals knotted the match at 21-21. The Royals won three of the next four points however and put the Chargers away for good on a kill from Josh Elmore.
 
By the Numbers: Lancaster Bible had 41 kills and 34 errors on 133 attempts, while Eastern Mennonite had 41 kills and 32 errors on 121 attempts…Gentry led the Chargers with 12 kills and 11 digs, while Horst had 11 kills and seven digs…Ansell had 35 assists to go with seven blocks and an ace…Kreider added seven kills and five blocks…Both teams had 12 blocks…Josh Elmore had a match-high 13 kills for the Royals.
 
Information Hodge Podge: Lancaster Bible is now 0-23 all-time against Eastern Mennonite…Saturday marked just the second time in the series that Lancaster Bible had taken a set against the Royals…The Chargers also won a set in 2011…Lancaster Bible also lost to Eastern Mennonite on Jan. 21 this season (3-0).
 
Up Next: Lancaster Bible hosts a NEAC Weekend next weekend as the Chargers welcome five other teams to Horst Athletic Center…The Chargers play D'Youville on Friday at 4 p.m. and Hilbert at 8 p.m…Lancaster Bible will then host Medaille on Saturday at 1 p.m.