ROLLA, MO -- Missouri S&T Men's Volleyball went five sets against Rockhurst today, defeating the Hawks 25-17, 22-25, 25-22, 18-25, 15-13.
An ace by
Caleb Rohlwing (Barrington, Ill./Barrington) and a double block from
Tyler Johnwick (Lombard, IL/Glenbard East) and
Aaron Sallade (Palatine, Ill./William Fremd) gave the Miners a 4-1 lead to start the match. Rohlwing added a pair of kills to a 4-1 S&T run later to extend their lead to four before the Hawks came back to make it a one-point difference. Sallade led a 7-1 run in response, recording an ace and two kills as the Miners pulled ahead 18-11. S&T shut down a late comeback attempt by Rockhurst, taking the set 25-17 on a 6-2 run.
Rockhurst grabbed a sizable advantage early in the second frame, using a pair of 4-0 runs to move ahead 9-5.
Nate Meyer (Arlington Heights, Ill./Hersey) helped the Miners draw even at 12-12, providing two kills and an ace in a 4-1 run. Rockhurst pushed ahead again with a 3-0 run, but the Miners caught them again at 19-all. The Hawks benefited from S&T errors late though, taking five of the last seven points and claiming set two.
Neither team led by more than one in the first fourteen points of set three, but a 3-0 S&T run gave them the edge at 10-7. Kills from Meyer, Johnwick, and
Jackson Campbell (St. Charles, MO/Francis Howell Central) helped extend the Miners' lead to four, holding that advantage until 17-13. The Hawks surged late in the set, putting together a 6-1 scoring run to take a 21-20 lead. The Miners pushed back though, getting kills from Meyer and Campbell in a 5-1 run that gave them the set and the 2-1 lead in the match.
The Hawks took a 6-3 advantage to start set four, but Meyer and Rohlwing led a 3-0 run that tied the set at 10-10. Rockhurst's Shay Spadaro responded with three kills and two aces to put the Hawks back in front. Rockhurst later extended their lead to five at 21-16 after a kill by Lucas Tran, allowing them to close out the set and force a fifth.
The Miners started the fifth set hot, getting an ace from
Nate Meyer (Arlington Heights, Ill./Hersey) to start things off and going ahead 5-1 on a triple block from Campbell, Johnwick, and
Camden Seaver (Palatine, IL/William Fremd). Kills from Rockhurst's Spadaro and Quentin Huhman cut the deficit to one at 10-9, but back-to-back kills by Campbell pushed the Miners' advantage back to three at 12-9. The teams traded points down the stretch, with the Hawks saving two match points before the Miners won 15-13 to claim their 8th victory of the season.
The Miners recorded an error-free first set, getting 11 kills on 26 attempts. The team hit .423 in the first and .421 in the fifth. Meyer and Johnwick both had standout performances, hitting .417 and .429, respectively, while combining for 29 kills. Meyer recorded his third double-double of the season, pairing 18 kills with 10 digs, while adding 3 service aces and 3 blocks.
Johnwick and Seaver both recorded career highs for block assists in a match, with seven and three. Johnwick also tied his personal best for kills in a match with eleven. Campbell also had a career night, recording personal bests of 8 kills, 2 blocks, and 5 digs.
What's Next
S&T hosts Jamestown next week for matches at 6pm on Friday and 2pm on Saturday. Saturday's match will be Senior Day.
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