The Lancaster Bible College men's volleyball team clinched the top spot in next month's North Eastern Athletic Conference Playoffs with a 3-1 victory over SUNY Poly on Saturday afternoon in Utica, N.Y. The ninth-ranked Chargers won, 25-19, 25-12, 23-25, 33-31 and improved to 23-4 overall and 9-0 in NEAC play. The Wildcats, currently in second place in the NEAC, dropped to 14-11 overall and 5-2 in conference play.
 
How it Happened: The teams exchanged points to open the match, but leading, 10-8, Lancaster Bible won six of seven points to open a 16-9 on a kill from Nate Miller. The Wildcats closed the gap to 16-13, and kept it close for a moment, but a block assist from Kyran Flahive and Daniel Kreider extended the Chargers lead to 22-15, and Kole Horst ended the set with a kill a few points later to give Lancaster Bible a 1-0 lead.
 
Lancaster Bible kept the momentum going in the second set, and opened a 10-4 lead on an ace from Flahive. SUNY Poly tried to stay in the set and cut the Chargers' lead to 15-8, but a kill from Horst, block assist from Zeke Hallman and Horst, followed by an error, gave Lancaster Bible an 18-8 lead late in the set. The Chargers won four of the final five points in the set, and took it, 25-12, on a service error by the Wildcats.
 
SUNY Poly wouldn't go away quietly however, and led 10-6, and 13-10 midway through the third frame after a kill from Piotr Kasza. Lancaster Bible finally tied the set at 18-18 on a block assist from Kaleb Ansell and Hallman, but with the match tied, 20-20, SUNY Poly rattled off four straight points, and after Lancaster Bible made it a one-point game, 24-23, Connor Schultz gave the Wildcats the set, 25-23, with a kill.
 
The fourth set was one for the ages, as Lancaster Bible and SUNY Poly went back-and-forth for 64 points. The Chargers won four straight points midway through the set to grab a 16-14 lead on a block assist by Kreider and Ansell, but SUNY Poly tied the match, and took a 21-20 lead on a kill from Max Szuba. It was Lancaster Bible's turn to make a comeback, and two straight kills from Horst gave the Chargers match point at 24-23. SUNY Poly fought it off, and again at 25-24, before earning their own set point after a kill from Schultz.
 
This time the Chargers fought off the set point, and earned another of their own after Kreider and Ansell teamed up for yet another block. The Wildcats countered, and the teams exchanged points all the way to 31-31. With the score tied, Kreider earned a kill, and gave the Chargers match point at 32-31. With Flahive serving, SUNY Poly received the ball and their attack went wide, sending the Chargers bench, and the rest of the team and coaching staff into a frenzy, as they had won the NEAC Regular Season title.
 
By the Numbers: Lancaster Bible had 62 kills and 21 errors on 124 attempts for a .331 hitting percentage, while the Wildcats had 43 kills and 20 errors on 116 attempts for a .198 attack percentage…Lancaster Bible led in blocks, 13-4, and digs 42-37…Miller finished with 21 kills, four blocks and five digs, while Horst was terrific with 18 kills and just three errors on 33 attempts…Horst also added five digs…Ansell finished with four kills, 52 assists and seven blocks, while Kreider had seven kills and seven blocks…Flahive added nine kills, five aces and 11 digs, while Zeke Hallman had two kills and four blocks…Kurt Maysilles chipped in with seven digs, and Reuben Kemrer had two aces and two assists…Donovan Suguitan led the Wildcats with 15 kills.
 
Information Hodge Podge: Lancaster Bible is now 13-7 all-time against SUNY Poly…The Chargers defeated the Wildcats, 3-0 on Feb. 16 in Lancaster…Lancaster Bible is 9-1 in true road matches this season…The team's 62 kills tie a season-best, as the Chargers also smashed 62 kills in their five-set victory over Wells on March 16…Lancaster Bible's 13 blocks are a season-high, as are the 22 block assists…Ansell's 52 assists are the second time he has topped 50 this season, as he had 56 in the aforementioned five-set win over Wells.
 
Up Next: Lancaster Bible wraps up NEAC play on Thursday, April 4, as the Chargers host Wilson at 7 p.m….It will be Staff & Faculty Appreciation Night, as staff and faculty members can arrive early and enjoy dessert and coffee prior to the match, and then watch the Chargers battle the Phoenix.