[Men's Volleyball] Trojans Compete at Stritch Invitational

Milwaukee, Wis. - The Hannibal-LaGrange men's volleyball team played four matches at the Cardinal-Stritch Invitational this weekend in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

The first competition the Trojans faced Lourdes University, who is currently ranked #8 in the nation. After dropping the first and second sets by scores of  14-25 and 11-25, the Trojans were able to come out stronger in the third set by jumping out to an early 7-1 lead. However, they were unable to close out the set as they would lose 22-25.  The Trojans offense was led by Joao Sales Neto (SO/Fortaleza, Brazil) with 11 kills, while also picking up 7 digs. Anthony Navarro (FR/Bolingbrook, Ill.) led the offense and finished with 21 assists and 4 digs. Dakota Meador (SR/Claremont, Calif.) and Nathan Davis (SO/Cape Girardeau, Mo.) controlled the backcourt for the Trojans finishing with 10 and 6 digs each.

The next contest the Trojans would face the Missouri Valley Vikings for the third time this season. The Trojans were able to play a good game early on, losing the first and second sets by scores of 19-25 and 21-25. However, the Vikings proved to be too much for the Trojans as the team lost the set by a score of 11-25.  Austin Wayne (JR/Hebron, Ind.) paced the Trojans with 11 kills on 15 total attempts, also picking up 4 digs. Anthony Navarro finished with 10 assists, followed by Nathan Davis with 8 assists and 3 digs. Joe Kennedy (SO/Muskogee, Okla.) and Cameron Moeller (JR/Torrance, Calif.) also finished 4 kills each. Moeller would finish with a team high 6 digs, while Kennedy finished with 4 digs.

The third game of the tournament the Trojans went up against the Mustangs of Morningside College. The Trojans took the first set 26-24, before dropping the next three by scores of 26-28, 16-25, and 12-25.  Joao Sales Neto led the Trojans with 13 kills and 6 digs in two sets, as he sat out the remainder of the match with injury. Multiple players finished with kills for the Trojans: Joe Kennedy (6), Milos Stankovic (SR/Valjevo, Serbia) (6), Austin Wayne (8), and Cameron Moeller (5). Anthony Navarro finished with 20 assists, while Nathan Davis finished with 13 while also picking up 6 digs.  Dakota Meador led the defensive effort with 15 digs, while Joe Kennedy finished with 11 digs. 

The final contest the Trojans faced the Clarke Crusaders who are currently ranked #6 in the nation. The Crusaders proved to be too much for the Trojans, as the Trojans would drop the contest by scores of 13-25, 16-25, and 15-25.  Austin Wayne led the Trojans with 9 kills, and Cameron Moeller followed closely with 5 kills. Nathan Davis led the offense and finished with 9 assists, while picking up 3 digs. Dakota Meador finished with 10 digs, while Joe Kennedy finished with 3 kills and 4 digs.

The Trojans return to action this week as they travel to Iowa where they will wrap up the regular season with three conference games against Dordt, Briar Cliff, and Morningside.