Reinhardt Goes 1-1 on Day One of MSC Pod Play

By Brandon Wright, RU Athletics

WALESKA, Ga. – Reinhardt men's volleyball faced two different opponents Friday afternoon in Cumberland (Tenn.) and Georgetown (Ky.).

The confidence from the four-set victory versus Cumberland lasted into match two with Georgetown, but the Tigers proved too strong for the home team and defeated the Eagles in three-straight, but very close sets.

Reinhardt defeated the Phoenix in match one in four sets – 25-21, 25-22, 21-25, 25-21. In match two, the Eagles fell to Georgetown in three sets – 20-25, 21-25, 22-25.

The 1-1 day keeps the hometown team at .500 on the year (5-5 overall, 4-2 Mid-South Conference).

"Today was a great day to play some volleyball," head coach CJ Shearer said. "The guys came out and played hard both matches. Regardless of results, I'm proud of the steps the guys are taking. I'll continue to be better for them in the moments needed, and I know they'll continue to push and grind.

"Everything goes to God, and we look forward to Midway tomorrow."

Match One vs. Cumberland (W, 3-1)

·        Reinhardt battled it out with their first opponent, Cumberland, and defeated the Phoenix three sets to one.

·        Collectively, the Eagles hit .127 against Cumberland with 42 total digs, eight assisted blocks and one solo block.

·        Victor Pacheco had a phenomenal first match where he hit .333, had 15 kills, 20.5 points, one solo block, and three assisted blocks.

·        Matthew Corrales also scored in double-digits with 13.5 and had 9 digs while Ricardo Mujica pitched in 34 assists.

Set One (W, 25-21)

·        In set one of the battle, the teams went back and forth until Reinhardt jumped out to a 10-6 lead.

·        The Eagles held the lead for the rest of the way and closed out set one with help from three-consecutive kills at the end.

Set Two (W, 25-22)

·        Set two of the match was much closer as the visiting Phoenix jumped out to an early lead on the Eagles.

·        Reinhardt found itself down, 6-3, early in the set, but battled back to make the score 17-13 in its favor a few minutes later.

·        Late in the set, Cumberland was on top, 22-21, but Reinhardt, with the help of two Pacheco kills and two Cumberland errors, scored four unanswered points to secure the victory and a two sets to zero lead.

Set Three (L, 21-25)

·        Cumberland got its only win of the day in set three by going on a run down the stretch.

·        The Eagles were on top, 19-16, and looking to close out the Phoenix in straight sets, but the visiting team went on a 7-0 run to take a 23-19 lead.

·        Reinhardt put two more on the board, but Cumberland closed out the set on top, 25-21.  

Set Four (W, 25-21)

·        The Eagles jumped out to an 11-2 lead in set four, but they allowed their opponent to battle back and make the score 15-14 a few moments later.

·        A couple of kills down the stretch allowed the Eagles to get the win in the set and close out the visiting Cumberland Phoenix.

Match Two vs. Georgetown (L, 0-3)

·        The confidence from match one indeed carried over, but unfortunately, so did the fatigue as the Eagles fell in three very close sets to the Tigers.

·        Collectively, Reinhardt hit .103 with 26 digs, seven total team blocks and 31 total assists.

·        Victor Pacheco was the leading scorer again in match two, where he hit .200, had six digs, four assisted blocks, nine kills and 11 points.

·        Dalton Fellows also had three kills, a solo block and four assisted blocks while Ricardo Mujica pitched in 27 assists – giving him 61 on the day and 327 on the year.

Set One (L, 20-25)

·        Reinhardt jumped out to an early 3-1 lead in set one, but they allowed Georgetown to score four unanswered and take a 5-3 lead.

·        The Eagles were able to tie it back up at 13-all, but Georgetown wouldn't let up as it immediately went on a 5-1 run and found itself up, 24-17, a few minutes later.

·        Three more Reinhardt points were not enough as a Georgetown kill closed out the game and the five-point defeat.

Set Two (L, 21-25)

·        Reinhardt and Georgetown traded points in the beginning until the Tigers went on a 9-2 run to take a 13-6 lead.

·        The Eagles then followed that up with a 6-2 run of their own making the score 15-12.

·        However, the visiting Tigers proved too strong as they closed out the game and took a two sets to zero lead in the match.

Set Three (L, 22-25)

·        The last set went much like the first two with the visitors taking an early lead and never losing it.

·        The score was all tied up at 2-2 until Georgetown went on a 5-1 run to take a 7-3 lead on the Eagles.  

·        Strong play the rest of the way allowed the Tigers to keep their lead and close out Reinhardt in straight sets.

Pod play continues tomorrow against Midway (Ky.) at 5 p.m.

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