Grove City, PA. – The Nazareth men's volleyball team traveled to Grove City, Pennsylvania to play an out-of-conference double-header against the Chatham University Cougars and the Grove City College Wolverines on Saturday. They first overcame an early deficit to Chatham to claim a 3-1 victory. Then, Nazareth went the distance with Grove City in a back-and-forth affair, eventually pulling through by 3 sets to 2. The double-header sweep improves Nazareth to 11-10, while Chatham falls to 9-6 with a split and Grove City moves to 8-12 with two losses.
MATCH ONE - Nazareth 3, Chatham 1
How It Happened
- Chatham started the game strong, jumping out to a 4-0 lead right away. Nazareth took their time getting acclimated, but managed to eat away at the Cougar lead to take a 4-point lead of their own at 15-11. Chatham tied things back up at 16-a-piece, and the big momentum swings ceased. The two teams started trading blows, with the score remaining within two until the very end. The Golden Flyers fell just short in the end, dropping the set 25-23 and going down one set to none
- The match remained close throughout the entire second set, with no more than 3 points separating the two squads. Quintin Chiles led his team with 3 kills in the set, but the scoring was dispersed throughout the Golden Flyer lineup, allowing them to keep pace with the Cougars. Chatham was the first to reach 25, but the set required extra points to be decided. Nazareth ended up pulling through, with a kill by Quinn Ringstad and an ace by Ryan Murphy put the set away by a score of 29-27. Nazareth tied the match at one set a side
- Set number 3 started closely contested again until Nazareth assumed control, taking a 14-10 lead and never looking back. The Golden Flyers never ceded their lead from that point on and went on to take the set 25-19. They led two sets to one
- Chatham showed signs of life early in the fourth set, fighting to keep the match alive. Nazareth's momentum however proved to be too much for the Cougars to handle. The Golden Flyers went on a dominant 14-5 run to take a 21-10 lead, effectively claiming the victory. Chatham went on a brief 5-2 run to even the score slightly, but Nazareth was able to put it away with a 25-16 fourth-set victory. They won three consecutive sets after losing the first to claim the 3-1 victory
Game Notes
MATCH TWO - Nazareth 3, Grove City 2
How It Happened
- The match began in typical fashion, with both teams getting on the board and staying even early. Nazareth were able to create some separation on the scoreboard first, taking a 12-8 lead. They would only grow their lead for the remainder of the set, with their largest lead coming with the final point where they took the opener 25-18 Nazareth took a 1-0 lead
- Set number two differed from the first in that neither team was able to generate any real separation. The largest lead was only 2 points and momentum was hard to come by. Nazareth carried the play late, stuck in a cycle of going up by one and the Wolverines tying it back up. It was Grove City who prevailed in the extra points, claiming the set 26-24 and tying the match up at one
- Grove City carried their strong play into the third set, jumping out to a 9-5 lead before extending it to 17-8. Nazareth pushed back incrementally, but ultimately fell short in a set that would give the Wolverines a crucial 2-1 lead. The Golden Flyers fell 25-18
- The Golden Flyers continued to look as though they wouldn't be able to overcome Grove City's attack to kick off the fourth set, going down 11-6. But with their backs against the wall they managed to put together a 10-3 run. They continued to battle it out, trading points with their opponents, but a 6-2 run finished it off for the Golden Flyers who took the set 25-21 and knotted the match back up
- Both teams played hard in the first-to-fifteen deciding set. Nazareth relied on their opponents' service errors to stay alive early, but found their rhythm with kills coming from Quintin Chiles and Tristan Henderson. The Golden Flyers would continue to apply pressure with small leads, and claimed a 15-13 fifth-set victory thanks to another service error from the Wolverines. Nazareth took the match 3-2
Game Notes
- Quintin Chiles led with 16 kills on 33 swings. He added an ace, a block, and 9 digs
- AJ Burda had a staggering 42 assists to go along with 8 kills, 9 digs and 4 aces
- Sean Frawley recorded 6 kills and an assist with 5 digs
- Joe Seliger put up 9 kills and 9 digs
- Quinn Ringstad had 6 kills on 15 swings
- Tristan Henderson recorded 5 kills on 9 swings and added a block
- Austin Drews hit 5 kills with no errors on 12 attempts with 2 assists, an ace and a block
What's Next
The Golden Flyers will remain on the road for the 7th consecutive game on Wednesday, March 11th. They are set to take on the Elmira College Soaring Eagles at 7pm in Elmira, New York for their third in-conference matchup of the season.
