Men's Volleyball tops Saint Xavier, gets first win of season
| Published: 01/30/2013 |
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MILWAUKEE — Alex Harbour and Jack Geary each accumulated 13 kills as the MSOE men's volleyball team won its first match of the 2013 season Wednesday night, besting Saint Xavier 21-25, 25-16, 25-21, 25-23 at the Kern Center.
Harbour (Sr./Middleton, Wis./AE) hit .480 on the evening, committing just one error, while Geary (Sr./Milwaukee/ME) had consecutive aces to highlight a come-from-behind charge to win the final set.
MSOE (1-2, 0-0 CVC) held a 10-9 lead in the opening set before surrendering nine of the next 10 points to fall down, 18-11. However, the Raiders rebounded quickly and dominated the equalizing second, opening up an 8-2 lead and never falling behind by less than five.
After committing nine errors and hitting just .036 in that second set, Saint Xavier (0-5, 0-2 MAMVIC) returned to form in the third, erring just twice and taking a 17-12 lead. Six-straight Raider points would change the tenor, though, as Harbour bookended a Cougar timeout with key kills to help MSOE maintain momentum. Tied at 21, MSOE captured the final four points of the set, the last two on finishes by Nick Manning (So./Salem, Wis./BE).
Saint Xavier was in line to push the match to a fifth set after taking a 12-4 lead in the fourth, but MSOE again fought back and tied the set at 19 on one of five fourth-set Cougar errors. Tied again at 23, another Cougar error gave the Raiders their first lead of the set before Geary ended the night with his final spike. The Raiders were able to take the finale despite hitting just .118 in the frame.
Matt Morrone (Jr./Worth, Ill./ME) had 26 assists and John Cote (Sr./Orland Park, Ill./ME) got 18 digs to aid the Raider cause, while Saint Xavier got 15 kills from Justin Cousin and saw Sam Kull convert on 13 of 19 attacks without an error to post the best hitting individual percentage of the night at .684.
MSOE will now get eight days of rest before its second match of a three-match homestand on Fri., Feb. 8 against Lourdes. Action will get underway at 7 p.m. CST. Tickets are available at the Kern Center Box Office.
