ST. DAVIDS, Pa. - The Arcadia University men's volleyball team swept its doubleheader at Eastern University, as the Knights won both contests in four sets.
Quinn Baily tallied 29 kills, nine aces, seven digs and three blocks in seven combined sets. The senior outside hitter had a career-best eight aces with 13 kills, while posting a .632 hitting percentage in tonight's finale.
Arcadia 3, Eastern 1
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Knights took the opening set, 25-19. Arcadia built themselves an early cushion with an 8-1 run, which put the squad ahead by six points, 10-4. Kevin Abraham provided two kills during the Knights rally, while Ryan Miller capped off the run with consecutive kills. Eastern would pull within three points, but couldn't overtake the Knights as they coasted to an opening set victory.
- The Eagles bounced back in the second set with a 25-22 victory. After a tightly-contested battle, which saw 10 ties and five lead changes, Eastern gained late separation with a 3-0 run to pull ahead by two points, 23-21. After a Baily kill brought the Knights within one point, the Eagles closed out the set with consecutive points for the win.
- The Knights were victorious in a pivotal third set, 25-22. With the game knotted at six, the Knights took the lead with a 4-0 run, which was immediately countered by an Eastern 5-0 rally. Arcadia then responded with four more consecutive points to pull ahead by three, 14-11. Eastern eventually came back to tie the game late, but the Knights closed out the set with consecutive kills from Dylan Zimmerman, Collin Nissley and Miller. Nissley played a key role in the team's third set success with six kills.
- After back-to-back close sets, Arcadia cruised to victory with a comfortable 25-15 fourth set. The set was aided by a 9-1 rally midway through the stanza, which put the Knights ahead by ten points, 22-12. Baily helped lead the team's run with two kills, while Anthony Devantier added a kill and an ace.
KNIGHT LEADERS
Kills: Baily 16, Nissley 10
Aces: Devantier 2
Blocks: K. Abraham 4, Nissley 4, Miller 4
Assists: Devantier 44
Digs: Devantier 7, Heft 6, Baily 5
Arcadia 3, Eastern 1
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Arcadia picked up where they left off in match one, dominating the opening set with a 25-9 victory. After opening with consecutive kills from Baily, the Knights jumped out to an early 10-1 lead, which forced Eastern to burn a timeout. Baily and Nissley both tallied five kills in the opening set as the Knights never took their foot off the gas.
- In a much more competitive second set, the Eagles were able to pull away for a 25-23 win. Arcadia broke an early 7-6 deficit with five consecutive points to create some separation, 11-7. However, Eastern responded with a 5-1 run towards the end of the set to seal a narrow victory.
- Much like the first set, the Knights were able to maintain pressure against the Eagles and coast to a comfortable victory, 25-17. Baily led the Knights with three aces, three kills and a block, while Owen Heft tallied four kills during the set.
- The Knights took care of business in the fourth set with a 25-11 victory. Four early kills from Baily propelled Arcadia to an early 7-0 lead over the Eagles. The senior then added three aces during a 5-1 stretch, which put the Knights ahead 12-1. Baily ended the set with five kills and three aces.
KNIGHT LEADERS
Kills: Baily 13, Heft 12
Aces: Baily 8, Devantier 3
Blocks: K. Abraham 6, Devantier 3
Assists: Devantier 27, McConnell 21
Digs: Colucci 9, Gonzalez 9
UP NEXT
Arcadia (4-2) hosts Alvernia University on Wednesday at 7 p.m.
