PREVIEW: Men's Volleyball hosts Emmanuel on Friday night

SALISBURY, N.C. – The Catawba College men's volleyball team continues its inaugural journey with a home match against Emmanuel University on Friday night at 7 p.m.

Last Time Out

- Catawba dropped its Tuesday matchup with Mount Olive in straight sets, but broke the 20-point barrier in each stanza

- Trevor Phillips had 15 kills, seven digs, and a service ace to lead the offense

- Eli Zdonek landed 11 kills with five digs and two blocks

- Luke O'Neill hammered a season-high six kills on nine swings in an efficient night, adding a team-best three blocks at the net

- Kristian Smith logged 35 assists for the third time in a three-set match this season while chipping in two kills and recording seven digs

By the Numbers

- Phillips ranks ninth in the country with 3.97 kills per set and 10th with 4.64 points per frame, pacing the Catawba Indians in total kills (131) and aces (18)

- Zdonek has also cracked the century mark in kills, delivering 106 blasts to land among the nation's top 50 attackers

- Smith slots 12th among Division I/II distributors at 9.97 assists per set for 329 total dimes

- Rookie Wyatt Eastin leads the way in blocking with 25 stops including six solos as Zdonek follows closely at 23 denials

- At libero, Max Adkisson has 69 digs to his name while dishing out 17 assists

Zdonek vs. Alma Mater

- Before coming to Catawba as a grad transfer, Zdonek spent four seasons at Emmanuel and received his undergraduate degree in Spring 2024

- The Greenville, S.C. native was a First Team All-Conference Carolinas performer last year, finishing first on the team with 367 kills on a .259 hitting percentage and 27 aces

- Defensively, Zdonek racked up 142 digs (the most among non-liberos) and totaled 32 blocks

Scouting the Lions

- The Emmanuel Lions have a 1-7 record including a 3-1 victory over Barry on Jan. 24, falling via sweep in each of their seven losses

- A three-match western swing to start the year featured tilts at No. 16 UCSB, No. 7 USC, and No. 10 Pepperdine

- After three contests in the Midwest, the Lions play two in the 704 this weekend as they follow up Friday's match at Catawba with a Saturday matinee at Belmont Abbey

- Thijs Van der Wal and Aidan Feeney lead the team with 46 and 34 kills, respectively

- Freshman libero Josh Staehler ranks 35th nationally with 1.96 digs per set, totaling 49 stops

Follow Along

The match will be broadcast on FloCollege ($) with live stats on CatawbaAthletics.com.