Reinhardt Opens Year With a Split at Running Eagles Classic

By Mike DeVader, Reinhardt Director of Athletic Communications & Media 

MARIETTA, Ga. – Reinhardt men's volleyball opened the 2021 season on Friday with a 1-1 split on the first day of the Running Eagles Classic, hosted by Life (Ga.), with a sweep of National Christian College Athletic Association Member – Carolina (N.C.) – (25-20,25-13,25-14) before falling in a hard-fought battle to Cumberland (Tenn.), 3-1, 27-29,17-25,25-20,27-29.

"I feel blessed we were able to step onto the floor today amidst everything going on right now," head coach CJ Shearer said. "It was nice to see our guys come out and get the first win of the season. Ultimately, we dropped a tight match after that; one we hope to grow from. Effort was absolutely there, we just made too many errors we had no business making. Our guys are good enough to cut a large chunk of those out, and hopefully a tight match against a solid team will help the learning process.

"Everything is given to God, and we look forward to the next day."

Eagles vs. Bruins (W, 3-0)

• The hometown squad started slow but ended fast as it hit .200 in the opening game but finished the matchup by connecting on .300 and .375, respectively, to earn the win.
• Collectively, Reinhardt posted a hitting percentage of .297 in the victory.
• Matthew Corrales exploded onto the scene to open the new campaign by connecting at a .533 clip with a team-best 10 kills; he also added five digs.
• Chase Cross was next in line with seven scores while adding eight defensive receptions. Nicolas Castro paced the Eagles with 12 digs.
• John Hynes had three assisted blocks and a trio of teammates added two more apiece.
• Ricardo Mujica assisted 21 times on 32 kills.
• The positive outcome for Reinhardt was aided by 22 errors and a negative hitting percentage (-.013) from Carolina.

Eagles vs. Phoenix (L, 3-1)

• The Mid-South Conference foes lined up in a non-league matchup later in the day in what would prove-to-be a back-and-forth affair throughout.
• Both Reinhardt and Cumberland exchanged punches and had chances to win a pair of sets that went into extra-time – the first and fourth – but the Phoenix slipped away from the Eagles on both occasions, 29-27.
• After dropping the heart-breaking opening game, momentum continued for Cumberland into the second set at 25-17. The hometown squad then showed a lot of heart by pulling itself up and taking the third stanza, 25-20, with a chance to tie the contest.
• Again, however, the extra volleyball resulted in the Phoenix winning by two points – and taking the match.
• Matthew Corrales claimed 15 kills and hit .270 with nine digs.
• Victor Pacheco posted a double-double with 10 kills and 10 digs to go along with five assisted blocks. John Hynes had seven of Reinhardt's 24 assisted rejections.
• Nicolas Castro was out-front of defense with 11 digs while Ricardo Mujica controlled the offense with 33 assists.
• The Eagles also earned seven aces in the non-conference bout.

The club is back on the court tomorrow morning against the hosts of the event – Life – with first serve set for 10 a.m. 

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