Philadelphia Biblical University, which found itself on the short end of a 3-1 decision on January 31, got a measure of revenge as the Crimson Eagles defeated the Eastern Mennonite University men's volleyball team 3-1 Saturday night in Yoder Arena.

The win puts PBU at 4-5 on the season and 3-1 in the North East Collegiate Volleyball Association. EMU falls to 5-4 overall, 2-1 in the conference.

Justin Brubaker carried the majority of the offensive load for the Crimson Eagles, netting a game-high 28 kills to go along with seven digs. Leandro Dueck had 14 kills and 17 digs while Ben Fuller registered 12 kills and six digs for PBU in the win.

The Royals were led by the combined efforts of junior middle Justin Reesor (Stouffville, Ontario/Stouffville District) and sophomore middle Frankie Coto (Miami, Fla./Southwest Miami). Each player registered 10 kills for EMU while combining for one solo block and 12 assisted blocks.

Sophomore setter Shane Holderby (Virginia Beach, Va./First Colonial) had 34 assists, eight digs, and five kills. Senior libero Cory Parsons (Colmar, Pa./Christopher Dock) had a team leading nine digs in the loss.

In game one the Royals built a 5-2 lead as a kill from Austin Jones (Midlothian, Va./Crosby) and several PBU attack errors helped to put the home team on top. The Crimson Eagles did not stay in the passenger seat for long as Brubaker recorded back-to-back kills as PBU used a pair of EMU miscues to tie the contest at seven all.

The momentum then completely shifted towards the visiting bench as Jon Rose and Drew Dillon made the score 12-10. Brubaker tried to increase the PBU lead only to be blocked on his next two attempts by the combination of Holderby/Reesor and Holderby/Coto (13-13).

The tie was short lived for the Royals as a 4-0 run by Philadelphia Biblical resulted in the Crimson Eagles pulling ahead 17-13. Brubaker, an all-conference award winner as a freshman, registered three more kills in the final few points of the game to close out the win.

In the second game, EMU again took an early lead only to have the Crimson Eagles claw back with Brubaker squarely in the mix. A kill each from Brubaker and Fuller were sandwiched between an EMU attack error, making the score nine all. Niether team was able to build more than a three-point advantage through the remainder of the game as a kill by EMU was either followed with a Royal attack error or a PBU kill. The home team had 10 attack errors in the second game to go along with six service errors.

Philadelphia Biblical also had trouble finding the court, hitting only .108 (13-9-37) as a team. Even with their struggles the Royals (9-10-33, -.030) had more difficulties keeping the ball in play as the visiting team took advantage with PBU earning the final three points off EMU errors.

In game three the Royals offense finally began to click as an early 4-2 lead ballooned to 10-7. Reesor contributed five kills in the third stanza with Coto following closely behind with four. EMU also had four assisted blocks and a huge solo block from Holderby when the score was 20-18, EMU. The Holderby block keyed a 5-3 swing for the home team that led to the eventual game winning kill from Holderby, assisted by Seann Lanning (Yorktown, Va./Grafton).

In the fourth and final game the PBU offense took control as nine kills from Brubaker closed out the match. Dueck added six kills while Fuller and Andrew Dittman each added three kills. EMU had only five attack errors in the fourth game, compared to 12 for PBU, but was never able to get that final push. The Royals, down 23-22, saw Brubaker record back-to-back kills while points from Dueck, and two more from Brubaker make the score 27-22. A kill by Holderby gave EMU a glimpse of hope, but the Crimson Eagles added three more kills following an attack error, closing out the conference win.

Dittman finished with five kills for PBU.

EMU's next match will be on Tuesday, February 10, when they travel to Lancaster, Pa., to take on the Chargers of Lancaster Bible College at 7 p.m.