WILKES-BARRE, Pa.—Several Blue Jays recorded career-highs while two totaled double-doubles, giving the Elizabethtown men's volleyball the advantage in the 3-1 wins over Neumann and host King's (Pa.)
GAME 1: ELIZABETHTOWN 3, NEUMANN 1 (22-25, 25-14, 25-12, 25-21)
Declan Keller recorded 5 of the team's 8 aces while also adding 5 kills and 4 digs.
Mason Boyer led the team in kills with 10 and
Braydon Ambruster tallied 24 assists!
Elizabethtown defeated Neumann for the second time this season, but it was a slow start for the Blue Jays as they lost the first set, 25-22. The Blue Jays jumped out to an early 8-1 lead. Neumann came within two of Etown just before rattling off five straight points to take the lead. The two traded points until the end but the Knights came out on top, 25-22.
Set two started closer as Etown led 10-7 after several Knight errors. Kills from Keller,
Arun Gopinath, and
Josh McCoy put the Jays up 17-11. Etown then took a ten-point lead after five in a row which would secure their 25-14 win.
Etown was off to a hot start in the third set leading, 11-4 after two aces in a row from Keller. McCoy and Gopinath each put down a kill to put the Jays out in front, 16-7. After three straight Etown had almost doubled their lead over Neumann. Keller recorded his three final aces in row which would end the set, 25-12.
The final set was just the same as Elizabethtown started off with a substantial early lead. McCoy smacked down a kill to keep Etown in front, 15-11. Three Knight errors in a row then brought the score to 20-16. McCoy, Gopinath, and Boyer ended the set 25-21 with kills.
GAME 2: KING'S (PA.) 1, ELIZABETHTOWN 3 (24-26, 25-21, 25-21, 26-24)
Ambruster recorded a career-high 50 assists while also adding five kills and six digs. Gopinath totaled a career-high 21 kills. Boyer grabbed a double-double of 12 kills and 11 digs while
Logan Smith also tallied a double-double of 11 kills and 11 digs.
King's (Pa.) and Elizabethtown fought back-n-forth in the first set trading the lead several times. The Blue Jays were up 19-16 after kills from Boyer and Gopinath along with an ace. The Monarchs then gained momentum taking a 24-23 lead after four straight points. The Jays forced the extra points but King's came out on top, 26-24.
Set two was just as tight as the Monarch held a two-point lead at 16-14 until Etown smacked down three straight kills. The Blue Jays rattled off four in a row following four Monarch errors. Gopinath and Boyer put down the final two kills for the Jays to secure the 25-21 win. Set three started off with a 9-5 Etown lead. King's tied up the set at 10-10 after four points in a row. Kills from Smith, Boyer and Gopinath put Etown back on top, 14-11. King's was able to come back within one of Etown but the Blue Jays were able to hold on for the 25-21 win.
Set four saw King's jump out to a 7-1 early lead. Elizabethtown would slowly chip away at the lead after recording five points straight to tie the set at 12-12. The Blue Jays kept rolling, with a 5-1 run the team led, 18-15. The Monarchs were once again able to come back as two kills from Smith an a Monarch error gave Etown the 26-24 win.
