Eagles Volleyball 2022 Comes to a Close

David Finney

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - After just playing their final regular-season game of 2022, the Eagles did not have much time before the postseason started. The Mid-South Conference Tournament began on Thursday and was scheduled for a three-day tournament. Some of the top teams in all of NAIA would be here so it was a tough road for anyone to make it through to the finals.

The Eagles Volleyball Program is still in its developing stages, but it made many strides this year to take the program to a new level. Not only did they have some surprise wins against higher-ranked teams, but they also competed with some of the more developed programs and took several of them to final five-game sets.  The Webber International game from earlier in the season was one to remember for this team and definitely the rematch game with Life University at home where the Eagles pulled out the win. There are many more great moments with this team and the future is very bright as the sport keeps developing at Reinhardt.

In the tournament, the Eagles would be matched up with Bluefield to start the tournament. During the season, the Eagles won 3-2, and this time around they were able to improve on this by winning 3-1. The Eagles would give up the third set to the Rams, 22-25 - however, they would win sets one and two by the same score of 25-22 and then the fourth set 25-19. It was a good first-round game for the Eagles and there were many great stats put up by Second Team All-Conference players, Chase Cross, and Matthew Corrales. Cross would have 16 kills and a .462 hitting percentage. Corrales would have 10 kills, 2 aces, and 6 digs. Honorable Mention All-Conference player, Victor Pacheco, had a great game as well getting 11 kills and a .250 hitting percentage. Bruno Dewes would have 44 assists in the match and Ricardo Mujica would have 17 total digs to lead the Eagles.

The Bluefield win would move them to the next round of the tournament where the Eagles would have to face the #1 team in the conference, Georgetown which has a 25-5 record overall and 16-1 in the conference. This is a team that has the chance to win the conference tournament and battle for the NAIA title. Reinhardt had a tough match-up to deal with, but they have already faced them during the season and they did okay. In this match, the Eagles would make the first set go to extra points to find the winner.

The Eagles would go 27-25 in the first set which was their most competitive of the match. The second set was 25-20 for Georgetown and then in the third set - the Tigers would wear down Reinhardt and take a 25-15 win to take the full set. Bruno Dewes would have a good match getting 27 assists and Victor Pacheco would lead the Eagles with 11 kills.

This would wrap up the full season for the Eagles and it was a very good and entertaining season. Coach Goodhind was proud of the season and how the guys came together in order to push the program forward. He had this to say about the tournament and the season:

"As a coach, I am so proud of this team right now. All I wanted this season was to establish a foundation and culture this season. I thank these guys for even going with everything I pushed them on as I was just trying to give them everything I had during a time I didn't even think I would be coaching men's volleyball. With that said, they exceeded my expectations! They played a great match earlier, beating a good Bluefield team. Solid volleyball all the way around! They backed that up by going toe to toe with the #1 team and rattling them. Georgetown played out of their normal flow and it had a lot to do with our team pushing them hard set 1-2. Statistically, we were winning most categories through first two sets but couldn't close. There is a reason they are #1 and they weathered the storm and closed us out. With that said, I was really proud of our fight and how we played. The team showed a lot of growth! I want to thank John, Matt, and Seth as they just finished their playing collegiate playing careers. They should be proud of where this program was and where it is now as they leave it. I know, as a coach, I am very proud of them. They leave the program better than it started, what else can you ask for from your players! I want to thank God and to Him Goes All The Glory!"