The Lancaster Bible College Men's Volleyball team competed against two top-10 nationally ranked teams on Saturday afternoon at the Messiah Invitational. The Chargers lost 3-0 to both #7 Vassar and #2 Stevens. With a rigorous non-conference schedule including four nationally ranked teams played, the Chargers sit 3-4 overall with three big games ahead.
3-0 Loss vs. #7 Vassar | 28-26; 25-16; 25-21
The Chargers opened the first set on fire with
Dawson Forney getting back-to-back kills and sophomore
Christian Herr following it up with two kills of his own, giving the Chargers a 5-2 lead. The Chargers continued to trade points and the lead all the way through the 25
th point. It was Vassar who came away with a hard fought 28-26 first set win. The following two sets the Chargers found themselves down early and had to play behind for the match, coming within four to five points several times.
By the Numbers: The Chargers had 28 kills, three aces, and two blocks… Vassar tallied 41 kills, five aces, and eight blocks…
Jordan Yoder led the Chargers with 10 kills and nine digs…
Dawson Forney had eight kills and two blocks…
DJ Omogrosso had two aces and two blocks…
Christian Herr finished with 16 assists… Kim Jacob led Vassar with 10 kills and two assists.
3-0 Loss vs. #2 Stevens | 25-16; 25-15; 25-23
Sophomore
Jake Rotelle got the first kill of the game to go before Stevens strung together four points of their own to take a 4-1 lead. The Chargers fought back to bring it within three, 10-7, but another flurry of Stevens points pushed the lead to 18-9. Stevens went on take the first set 25-16. Stevens handled the second set much of the same, but the third set proved to be different as the Chargers maintained a three-point cushion through much of the set. With a 22-19 lead, it seemed as though the Chargers would steal one, but Stevens managed to score six points to take the third and final set 25-23.
By the Numbers: The Chargers tallied 30 kills, two aces, and five blocks… Stevens tallied 34 kills and eight blocks… Rotelle had a game-high 10 kills while Herr and
Kevin Bryant added six and five each…
Hunter Davis had four blocks and Herr added another three…
Ben Latham had a game-high 11 digs… Alex Olcott had eight kills for Stevens.
Up Next: The Chargers returns to the Horst Athletic Center on Wednesday, January 31 for a contest with another top-20 team in #20 Marymount (Va.) at 7:00 p.m.