BEREA, Ohio – The Baldwin Wallace University men's volleyball team hosted Adrian (Mich.) College in a Midwest Collegiate Volleyball League contest in Ursprung Gymnasium inside the Lou Higgins Center.
BW (6-8, 1-1 MCVL) was led by sophomore All-MCVL outside hitter Michael Beard (Hilliard/Darby) as tallied a career high 24 kills and tied his career high in digs with 15. Sophomore setter Brandon Long (Hinckley/Metea Valley, Ill.) dished out 50 assists and added four digs and two blocks.
AC (4-13, 1-2 MCVL) was led by sophomore outside hitter Chase Heuer as he tallied 20 kills and eight digs.
Set 1
- The teams shared long rallies, scoring back-and-forth for most of the set.
- Adrian found a big lead late in the set (23-19) to force BW to its second timeout.
- The Bulldogs claimed it by a 25-21 score.
Set 2
- BW battled from behind to go up 10-7 to start the set and force a Bulldog timeout.
- The Yellow Jackets extended their lead to 20-13 after a block from sophomore middle hitter Chris Moehl (Oceanside, Calif./El Camino) and freshman right side hitter Michael Devlin (Zelienople, Pa./Seneca Valley).
- BW notched three straight points to go up 23-13.
- Each team traded two points to close the second with the series tied 1-1.
Set 3
- Adrian grabbed a 18-14 advantage after a few blocks to force a BW timeout
- BW responded with four straight points to tie it 18 all and to cause a timeout by the Bulldogs
- Adrian outlasted the Yellow Jackets
Set 4
- Three aces in a row gave Adrian the 15-13 lead and forced BW to a timeout.
- It was an intense fourth set with Adrian holding a slight advantage at 22-20.
- BW tied the set at 23-23 with a kill from Beard.
- With both teams having an opportunity to close out the set, they still found themselves tied at 26-26.
- An error by Beard caused the Yellow Jackets to take a timeout.
- Out of the break, Beard notched a kill to tie it back up (27-27).
- A huge solo block by sophomore middle hitter Don Travis (Reynoldsburg) and a kill from sophomore outside hitter Nick Irelan (Powell/Olentangy Liberty) earned BW the game win (29-27) and forced the tie-breaking fifth set.
Set 5
- Adrian grabbed a 9-6 lead, BW took a timeout.
- Out of the break, Devlin came up with a fan-erupting kill.
- BW battled back to bring it within one point (11-10 Adrian).
- At 12-12, Adrian tallied two points to go up 14-12 and force a timeout by the Yellow Jackets.
- Adrian grabbed the last point on a BW error, claiming the set (15-12) and match (3-2) win.
The Yellow Jackets return to play Wednesday, March 2 as they travel to Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania to face Geneva College in a non-conference match. First serve is set for 7:00 p.m. inside the Metheny Fieldhouse.