LANCASTER, Pa.-- Leading Lancaster Bible with a .174 hitting percentage, the Elizabethtown men's volleyball team dropped a five-set heartbreaker to the Chargers Wednesday evening, falling 18-16 in the fifth set.
Arun Gopinath led the match with career-high 18 kills while hitting .325.
Braydon Ambruster tallied 39 assists, three aces, and seven total blocks.
Mason Boyer recorded his first career double-double with ten kills and 11 digs.
Dustin Hagin grabbed 20 digs for a career-high.
Elizabethtown dropped the first two sets in a close match-up, 25-23 and 25-19 before taking sets three and four, 25-20. In set one the Blue Jays trailed 16-9 after two three-point runs by Lancaster Bible. Etown was able to come back within four points of the Chargers and traded points until the end but it wasn't enough as they fell, 25-23. Set two saw LBC jump to a 10-2 lead. Etown came back within five after four straight points. The gap was still too large for Etown as they fell, 25-19 in set two.
Lancaster Bible again had the upper hand to start set three leading, 11-7 after a 6-1 run. After some back-n-forth kills from
Josh McCoy and Boyer brought the team within two of the Chargers. A big block by Ambruster and
Craig Patrick tied up the set at 16-16 and the Blue Jays then rattled off the next seven in a row to lead, 23-17.
Logan Smith smacked down the final kills for the Jays to secure the 25-20 win.
To start set four it was Elizabethtown who came out first with the momentum as they led, 10-7 after four straight LBC errors. Kills by Gopinath and Boyer along with a Boyer ace put the Blue Jays up, 18-12. The two teams traded points through the end of the set but three more Charger errors gave Etown the 25-20 win. In set five, Elizabethtown was able to come out to a 6-3 lead after kills from McCoy and Smith along with blocks by Gopinath, McCoy, and Ambruster. Two Lancaster Bible service errors forced the teams to flip sides at 8-6 with Etown still leading. LBC was then able to tie up the set at 8-8. Through the end of the set the two teams would go point for point with Lancaster Bible ultimately coming out on top on the account of Etown errors to win, 18-16.
Elizabethtown will travel to Penn St.-Schuylkill this Friday, January 31 at 7 pm.
