Eutectics Break Records in Lengthy Loss to WU, Defeat Greenville

GREENVILLE, ILL. – The Eutectic men's volleyball team travelled to Greenville University on Wednesday to play a non-Conference tri-match against two NCAA Division III teams: the hosting Greenville Panthers (5-11) and Westminster University Blue Jays (Mo.)(19-6). After disposing of the Panthers in three sets, the UHSP squad battled the Blue Jays in five sets, including an epic 36-34 fourth set, but ultimately lost the match 3-2. The UHSP team broke program records for single game kills (71) and single-game attacks (167) in the long match, and Grant Hoover tied his own record for single-game kills with 25.   

MATCH HIGHLIGHTS:

UHSP DEF. GREENVILLE 25-18, 25-20, 25-18

• The Eutectic offense put down six kills in the first eight points, leading to a 7-1 score, to set the tone of the match. They maintained the significant lead through much of the first set, winning the set at 25-18.
• The Panthers stayed with the Eutectics a little better in the second set, but any threat by the home team was mitigated when the Eutectics, up 12-9, won five points in a row as Zachary Gavrick' service yielded an ace, a kill by Grant Hoover, along with blocks from Maxwell McVickers (2) and RJ Dilks. The Panthers staved off four set-points, but ultimately succumbed to a final kill by McVickers as the set was won by UHSP at 25-20.
• The Eutectics maintained the momentum into the third set, going up 16-7 after back-to-back-to-back kills from Aidan VanCleef, Dickson Colado, and Blake Sheinin. The Panthers, saved five match points, but again, a UHSP kill – this time from Sheinin – eventually sealed the match in favor of UHSP at 25-18 for the final set.
• Aidan VanCleef led the Eutectic offense with 12 kills on 17 attempts (.529) Grant Hoover also reached double figures in kills with 11. RJ Dilks collected 38 assists, David Quinones recorded eight digs, and Maxwell McVickers put up two block assists and a solo block.  

WESTMINSTER DEF. UHSP 25-22, 22-25, 25-19, 34-36, 15-13

• With UHSP up 9-8 in the first set, the Blue Jays won six of the next seven points to take a lead of 14-10. The Eutectics strung together a kill by Cameron Werner (from Dilks), a block by Werner and Colado, and a kill by Hoover (from Dilks) to tie the score at 19-19. But, the Blue Jays were able to win the next three points and hold the lead, winning the set at 25-22.
• Westminster carried the momentum into Set 2, but the Eutectics were able to pull ahead 13-9 following strong offensive pressure, then increased their lead to 17-12. The Blue Jays closed the gap some, but were never able to catch the Euts who won the set at 25-22.
• The Blue Jays took an early lead (3-2) in Set 3 and never let up. The Westminster offense hit at .407 in the set (15 kills on 27 attempts) to slightly outplay the Eutectics, who had 13 kills on 27 attempts for a .370 average. The Blue Jays won the set at 25-19.
• The fourth set was a marathon. Sylvan Block served up four UHSP points in a row, including two kills from McVickers set up by Dilks, to give the Purple and Gold an 8-3 lead to start the set. The Blue Jays then had their own scoring run, winning five points in a row to reclaim the lead at 13-12. Kills from Cooper Hansen and McVickers, along with a block by Dilks and McVickers, put the Euts up 20-17. But, WU followed up with their own run of four points to take the lead back at 22-21. From that point forward, neither team could win more than two points at a time, forcing many extra points until, at 34-34, Dilks notched a kill and Hoover finished off the set with a service ace to win it 36-34 and force the fifth and deciding set.   
• The Blue Jays won four points in a row early in Set 5 to go up 7-5. Despite their efforts, with the shortened set format, the Eutectics were able to save two match points, but ultimately succumbed to Westminster 15-13.
• Grant Hoover racked up another 25 kills on 49 attempts (.367) in the lengthy match to tie his own program record and improve his career kill total to1036 with also picking up 11 digs in the match.
• Aidan VanCleef (13) and Dickson Colado (11) also reached double digits for kills. The Euts marked the UHSP history books with new records for team kills (71, was 64) and team attacks (167, was 163). RJ Dilks picked up 50 assists and Cameron Werner recorded six block assists.

UP NEXT:

Now 10-11 overall, the Eutectics will return to Heart of America Athletic Conference play with a weekend trip to Iowa. On Friday night at 7 p.m., the Eutectics (6-7 in the HEART) will play at Grand View University (8-6, 7-5 HEART) in Des Moines. Then, on Saturday, the UHSP team will travel to Oskaloosa to take on William Penn University (13-5, 9-4 HEART) for a match at 11 a.m.