Men’s Volleyball outlasted by Belmont Abbey in home opener

SALISBURY, N.C. – The Catawba College men's volleyball team took set No. 2 from defending Conference Carolinas champion Belmont Abbey, but dropped the next pair for a 3-1 setback in Wednesday's home opener at Goodman Arena.

TEAM STATS

- The Catawba Indians (1-2) were superior in attacking through two frames, but Belmont Abbey (1-1) quickly overtook the hosts for a final hitting percentage margin of .269-.200

- The Crusaders elevated for 10 blocks while Catawba managed five, hindered by three blocking errors

- Catawba experienced numerous woes in the serving sector with an .808 service percentage compared to Abbey's .883

- The blue and white finished with a 38-34 lead for digs, but Abbey committed just two receiving miscues versus the five made by Catawba

INDIVIDUAL STATS

- Trevor Phillips dominated to the tune of 17 kills, six digs, and an ace in his long-awaited homecoming to his home state

- Cam Reeder slammed 10 kills on 20 swings, batting .350 to lead the attacking corps, while chipping in five digs and a block

- Getting into double figures for the second straight match was Max Adkisson as the freshman libero was flawless in 24 receptions

- Eli Zdonek and Jacob Brown tacked on eight and six kills, respectively, with two stops at the net apiece

- Wyatt Eastin was effective in multiple categories, tallying three kills, three blocks (one solo), two digs, and one ace

HOW IT HAPPENED

First Set

- Despite early kills by Reeder and Zdonek, the Crusaders got three from Ethan Rehmann and raced out to a 10-4 lead, prompting a Catawba timeout to reset

- The blue and white did just that, winning the next four rallies to shorten the gap to two

- Another trio of kills from Reeder helped keep the hosts around as Phillips and Zdonek blasts forced Abbey's first timeout when the score reached 18-16

- Catawba errors and a couple of Zach Puentes darts pushed the Crusaders to the finish line for a 25-21 result in the opening stanza

Second Set

- The Catawba Indians shot out of the gates with a 6-3 edge as Phillips supplied the first and third kills of the set

- Abbey knotted it at 8-all, but Catawba slid back into the lead and found success fending off the Crusaders as the hosts never gave it up

- Phillips continued to roll, hitting the five-kill mark in the second set alone to keep Catawba in front at 18-16

- Reeder brought the set to a deciding point right after teaming up with Brown for a block as Abbey committed an attacking error to even the match at one set apiece

Third Set

- Rehmann re-emerged as a key cog for the Crusaders, chalking up three kills with a block including Caden Day upping the score to 6-3

- Abbey stretched the gap to 12-5 as Catawba struggled to establish service

- Jibriel Elhaddad went back-to-back with a kill and an ace while Puentes and Day each hammered two kills in a dash to a nine-point, 23-14 advantage

- Phillips and Reeder blasted late kills, but another pair of darts by Puentes closed it out in 25-16 fashion

Fourth Set

- Abbey's momentum carried into the fourth frame as it forced errant swings and found open floor during a 6-1 start

- Catawba worked to slim the deficit, squeezing the margin to 8-4 thanks to two Phillips kills and one from Reeder

- Persistence by the Crusaders, namely Elhaddad on defense and Luke Zelnis on offense, kept a seven-point buffer in place when Catawba called timeout at 16-9

- Zdonek chalked in three kills to attempt an eleventh-hour charge, but the visitors refused to concede and wrapped up a 25-15 stanza to end proceedings at 3-1

UP NEXT

Catawba continues its opening homestand on Friday, Jan. 17 with a match against Lees-McRae at 7 p.m.