DALLAS, Pa. – The Drew University men's volleyball concluded play at the Misericordia University Cougar Kickoff Classic on Saturday, facing a pair of challenging opponents for the second day in a row.
After playing a pair of nationally-ranked opponents on Friday, the Rangers faced another on Saturday when it took on No. 12 Messiah University to open the day. The Rangers captured the second set but lost by a final of 3-1 (25-18, 25-20, 24-26, 25-19).
Drew won another set in its final match of the tournament, but dropped a 3-1 (25-17, 22-25, 25-20, 25-22) decision to the Bison, who are currently unranked but were slotted 19th a week earlier.
Freshman
Gio Martin earned an individual honor for the Rangers, capturing a spot on the All-Tournament Team.
Martin paced the Rangers with a big performance versus Messiah, throwing down 17 kills while making just two errors on 35 swings for a .429 hitting percentage. Senior
Ephraim Smith posted 12 kills and hit .475 while also batting down three blocks while freshman
Quinn Donahue and junior
Andrew DuHaime distributed 19 assists apiece. Junior
Barend Oostdam added four blocks.
The Rangers put up a fight in each of their first two sets versus Messiah, trailing just 19-16 in the first set and 22-20 in the second. Drew finally broke through in the third set, when it led 24-22 before the Falcons won two straight points. But the Rangers clinched the set on kills from Martin and DuHaime.
The fourth set was tied 14-14 before Messiah used a 9-2 run to break it open.
Versus Nichols, DuHaime led Drew with 13 kills while Martin added another eight kills to go with six digs. Smith contributed seven kills and three aces while Donahue passed out 33 assists. Freshman
Gavin Cantada recorded seven digs.
Drew trailed 19-15 late in the opening set versus the Bison before Nichols ended the period on a 6-2 run.
The Rangers took control early in the second set, then held off a late Nichols run. Drew opened the stanza on a 7-3 run before leading by as much as eight. Drew led 22-14 before the Bison rallied with an 8-2 surge to make it 24-22. But that's when Smith finished off the set with a kill to make it 1-1.
In the third set, Drew trailed just 17-16 before breaking it open with a 7-1 run. The Rangers trailed by seven (16-9) in the final set, but came back with a 7-2 spurt to pull to within two. A late 4-1 run brought Drew to within two (24-22) before the Bison clinched the match with a kill.
The Rangers return to action on Friday, when they host the No. 1-ranked team in Division III, Southern Virginia, in their Continental Volleyball Conference debut.
