Clean sweep on Saturday as UHSP wins a pair

KANSAS CITY, MO – The Eutectics rolled to a non-conference doubleheader sweep on Saturday polishing off both Avila and Central Christian both in straight sets. UHSP overcame early Avila leads in the second and third sets and took care of the Eagles, 25-17, 25-19, 25-22. Then the Purple and Gold easily handled a winless Central Christian club, 25-12, 25-18, 25-16.

GAME HIGHLIGHTS:

UHSP DEF. AVILA; 25-17, 25-19, 25-22

• The Eutectics dominated the opening set with a five-point run to get things underway and eventually claimed a 14-5 advantage. Set one was never in doubt as Avila hit just .107 in the set.
• It was the Eagles that had early command in the second set. The opening three and nine of the first 14 game Avila a 9-5 lead. After a Matt Cook hit that gave AU a 10-7 lead, the Eutectics turned the set in their favor taking eight of the next nine points to grab a 15-11 lead. Dickson Colado had two kills in that run and Cooper Hansen and Blake Sheinin had one each. It was another stretch of taking six of seven that put UHSP in complete control to make the score 21-13. Sheinin used a pass from Nolan Rausch to put the second set away.
• Set three was reminiscent of set two. Eagles took an early lead and the Eutectics moved things into their favor with a mid-set surge. It was 8-5 Avila when UHSP scored six straight to gain the lead 11-8 as Aidan VanCleef went on a five-point service run. Another 4-0 run late put UHSP in front 20-14 as all four of those points came via Avila errors. The Eagles dug themselves too big a hole as Ashton VanCura registered the final kill for the win.
• Aidan VanCleef led the Eutectics with ten kills and only four errors for a .300 hitting percentage. It is the most kills for VanCleef in any of his last five matches.
• Nolan Rausch piled up 35 assists and six kills. Alan Uncal-Ramirez led Avila with 16 assists.
• Sebastian Rodriguez led the Eagles with nine kills. He added 12 digs.
• For the match, UHSP had 40 kills to 29 for Avila. The Eutectics hit at .250 while the Eagles were at .143.
• UHSP had seven aces on the match while Avila had two.

GAME HIGHLIGHTS:

UHSP DEF. CENTRAL CHRISTIAN; 25-12, 25-18, 25-16

• Central Christian led 5-2 in the first, but after the next 23 points, UHSP had a commanding 20-10 lead. The Eutectics closed the set on a 5-2 run as they hit a monstrous .556 in the set.
• 17 points into the second set, UHSP held a one point led. A 4-0 run led the Eutectics to help slowly pull away from the Tigers as they ended the set on a 6-2 run. Aidan VanCleef finished the set with an ace. The Eutectics hit .469 in the set.
• It was more domination by the Eutectics in the third storming to a 13-5 lead. Central Christian got within four at 16-12. The Tigers got just four points the rest of the way as UHSP cruised to the win. The match ended on back-to-back kills from Jackson Brincks.
• Jackson Brincks led the Eutectics with 12 kills in the match. He had just one error in 17 opportunities and connected at a terrific .647 in the match. That is the second-best hitting percentage by a single player in a match in UHSP history (with at least 10 attempts), second only to Marcus Parker who holds the record at .900, ironically also against Central Christian on Feb. 17, 2024. Aidan VanCleef added 11 kills.
• Nolan Rausch had 34 assists and three digs. Sylvan Block had ten digs and four assists.
• Stephen Barnes racked up a match-high 16 kills and had all but 11 of the 27 kills CCCK had in the match.
• Issac Cruz notched 25 assists for the Tigers.
• UHSP hit .416 for the match while CCCK was at .184. That marks the fourth-best performance for efficiency in a match in UHSP history.

NEXT UP:

The Eutectics (12-15, 6-11 HEART) finish out the regular season with three straight at home beginning with the Ottawa Braves (17-8, 10-6 HEART) coming to town on Friday at 7:00p. Then it will be a pair on Saturday as both Graceland and Central Christian come to town.