[Men's Volleyball] Men's Volleyball posts strong tournament outing, finishing 2-1

LAURINBURG, N.C. – The men's volleyball team finished 2-1 in the Mid-South Men's Volleyball Pod this weekend, with their only loss coming from the no.1 team in the nation. St. Andrews hosted Reinhardt University, Campbellsville University, Thomas More University, and Cumberland University for the 6-match tournament that was stretched throughout Friday and Saturday.

SAU - 1   (1)Campbellsville - 3

The Knights dropped their first match of the tournament to the top squad in the nation in three sets on Friday evening.

The Tigers dominated the first set, 25-15, before the Knights lost two key players due to injury during the match. St. Andrews struggled to work their way back into the match after the injuries, falling in set 2 with a score of 25-17 and set 3, 25-16.

Leading the Knights offensively in the match was senior Edgar Huerta with 9 kills, followed by Jacob DeSouza's 5.

Nate Blackwell and DeSouza each pocketed a solo block against the Tigers, while the team collected 6 total blocks.

Campbellsville hit an impressive .485 hitting percentage throughout the match and held the Knights to .103.

SAU - 3  Cumberland - 2

St. Andrews opened their second day of play with a 5-set thriller against Cumberland University on Saturday afternoon (25-22,24-26,21-25,25-23,17-15).

The entire first set was controlled by Cumberland, until the Knights tied the set at 21-21. Dakota Hotaling went on a 5-serve run to dominate the final points of the set, giving the Knights the 25-22 win.

A strong start by the Knights in set 2 was not enough as the Phoenix were able to tie the set at 14-14 and control the remainder of the set to win 26-24. Both teams would take a set in set 3 and 4, forcing them to a tie-breaking 5th set.  

The Knights fell behind early in the 5th set but worked their way back as they went on a 5-point run that started when they were down 4-5. Cumberland tied the set at 15-15 but the Knights took the next point off an Edgar Huerta kill before the Phoenix gave SAU the final point off an attack error.

Edgar Huerta collected the most kills for the Knights with 17, while Alex Arzuaga posted the highest hitting percentage of an impressive .419 on 16 kills. Jacob DeSouza also collected double digits in the kill column with 15.

Dakota Hotaling collected a total of 57 assists in the 5-set match while leading the team with 13 digs. Huerta was the only Knight to record a service ace in the match as he recorded 4.

SAU - 3  Thomas More – 0

St. Andrews stretched a 10-point lead at 19-9 over the Saints and kept the 10-point difference consistent throughout the set as the Knights won the first set with a score of 25-15.

The Knights started strong in set 2 as they built a 10-5 lead over Thomas More before Edgar Huerta went on a 7 serve streak to put SAU up by 10 at 17-7. St. Andrews held Thomas More to just 10 points in the second set, as SAU recorded the largest lead of the match of 15 points with a final score of 25-10.

An early 9-4 run by St. Andrews would set the pace for the final set of the match as Thomas More was unable to come within single digits on the Knights, with St. Andrews taking the match-winning set, 25-16.

Edgar Huerta led the Knights offensively against the Saints with 11 kills on 16 attempts, hitting for .625 for the match. Freshman Alex Arzuaga was also a top performer, collecting 10 kills and 2 service aces.

Dakota Hotaling recorded 32 assists in the match while also collecting 4 digs.

Up Next

The Knights will next be in action on Friday, February 21st, as they travel to Life University for a conference match starting at 7 pm.

About St. Andrews University

St. Andrews University is a branch of Webber International University located in Laurinburg, NC.   The University's mission is to offer students an array of business, liberal arts and sciences, and pre-professional programs of study that create a life transforming educational opportunity which is practical in its application, global in its scope, and multi-disciplinary in its general education core. Students will acquire depth of knowledge and expertise in their chosen field of study, balanced by breadth of knowledge across various disciplines, while pursuing a degree at associate, bachelor, or master level. Special emphasis is placed on enhancing oral and written communication, and critical thinking skills. The international quality of the student body enriches personal experience and promotes understanding of international cultures and influences. Through an atmosphere in which self-discipline, creativity and cultivation of ethical standards are enhanced, the University is dedicated to teaching its students the "how to learn, how to think, and how to apply method" to each new challenge.