Huge Performance From Corrales Sparks Eagles' Historic Night

By Mike DeVader, Reinhardt Director of Athletic Communications & Media

Photo Courtesy of Cumberland Sports Information

LEBANON, Tenn. – The 23^rd team within Reinhardt Athletics was officially unveiled on Friday evening in the Phoenix Men's Volleyball Classic, as the Eagles stepped on the floor for a pair of matches against No. 4 Lourdes (Ohio) and Judson (Ill.) – and went 1-1 – claiming victory for the first time in history.

The Gray Wolves were too much for the hometown squad to handle in its initial outing (10-25,17-25,14-25), but Reinhardt rebounded in a big way against another group of Eagles in a four-set triumph (23-25,25-20,25-18,25-21).

Matthew Corrales had a monster debut and helped his team take down Judson with 25 kills in 43 attempts (.488) as Reinhardt (1-1) totaled a kill percentage of .350 in the win.

"Words can't describe how happy I am to get this season underway," head coach CJ Shearer said. "This tournament was designed to test-up, and I'm happy with how we responded. Lourdes came out as-billed and definitely showed us areas I need to work on with the team, but the guys did the biggest things I asked them to do: give maximum effort, keep composure and learn. I think that absolutely showed in our next match… Judson was a team we had to show up against if we wanted a shot at winning, and the guys did just that. Our block and defense picked up tremendously, ball control cleaned up and we looked far more in rhythm.

"Matt Corrales was amazing through both matches; earning 35 kills through his first two collegiate matches – good for five a set. John Hynes was having an unbelievable second match until he went down with an injury, and we are wishing him a speedy recovery from whatever it may be. Ricardo Mujica looked comfortable running our offense and Chase Cross stepped up a bit each set. At the end of the day, I'm proud of how the guys battled and am thrilled to be bringing home our first win in program history tonight. To God goes all the Glory."

Both convocations of Eagles stood tall in set one as it went down to the wire despite Judson hitting only .182 thanks to a combination of errors and aces. That combination helped Reinhardt come back from a 20-12 hole and get within two points to put all the pressure back on the other Eagles.

Judson would then get up, 24-20, before the hometown Eagles netted three-straight tallies; but a service error gave Judson the 1-0 lead.

A faster start to game two helped Reinhardt tie the score at 1-1 after the Eagles had a nice cushion to try and hold onto the rest of the stanza. Judson would continue to hand free points to its competition with errors, for which Shearer's team took advantage will 11 kills and only three miscues of its own. The opposing Eagles wouldn't go away, however, as they worked their way back to within one at 20-19 before Reinhardt went on a 5-1 run to finish the set.

The Eagles took back-to-back sets from Judson in game three after posting their best performance of the day to the tune of .478 and 12 kills. The Eagles from Illinois found themselves battling an up-hill climb from the beginning after falling behind, 8-1, and, 10-3. Judson would continue to fight – as it had done all evening – to get the score back to 20-18, but five-straight points (three errors) doomed the opposing Eagles.

Reinhardt would come from behind in set four and regain its hold on the match in the middle portion of the game with strong play on both ends of the net. Now with its back against the wall, Judson would put together one more push – four-consecutive tallies – to get back within one at 21-20; but it wouldn't be enough as the Eagles bounced back with four of the next five decisions to make history in the winning column.

Chase Cross also had eight kills in the win, while Ricardo Mujica hit .571 with 37 assists and six digs – second behind Reynaldo Medina's 11.

Collectively, Reinhardt had six aces (three from Medina) and 24 assisted blocks.

In match one, Corrales also led the way offensively with a .318 hitting percentage and 10 kills, but the team was only able gather a cumulative total of .105 in the opening battle.

After facing a 3-0 deficit in the opening set, John Hynes will go down in history as the first player to record a point for Reinhardt after a score to make it 3-1 following an assist from Mujica – who had a team-best 16 dimes.

Lourdes would go on little runs throughout the match after the Eagles would try to get some momentum rolling, but the Gray Wolves would show why they are a top team in the NAIA. Reinhardt would put together a stronger performance in set two with a .222 hitting percentage with seven kills.

Errors played a role in set three and the overall outcome, as the Eagles tallied 12 miscues in the program's first matchup ever.

On offense, three additional student-athletes had two-or-more scores. Medina was out front defensively with eight digs. Corrales earned five digs as well.

The club gets back on the court tomorrow morning for another pair of contests, beginning with Indiana Tech at 10 a.m. 

To watch Reinhardt in action this weekend on the court, please click here.

For up-to-the-minute Eagles sports news, follow Reinhardt Athletics on Facebook, @RU_Eagles on Twitter and @ru_eagles on Instagram. 

For more information on Reinhardt Men's Volleyball, please click here.