Last time EMU met up with Ramapo, they were playing without middle John Grove (Glen Allen, Va./Deep Run) and lost 3-0, with two games decided by two points each. Saturday night, with Grove back in the lineup, Eastern Mennonite hosted the Roadrunners in Harrisonburg. It was another tight match, with the Royals falling in four, including three games decided by the two-point minimum.

EMU led much of game one, and then broke off a 20-20 tie with a 4-1 run to serve for game point. But the Roadrunners regrouped and rattled off five straight points to steal the victory, 26-24.

Ramapo had the edge most of game two, but the Royals used a late 7-2 surge to tie the game at 23-23 on a big double block from Grove and Greg Knight (Chesapeake, Va./Hickory). The visitors got back-to-back kills to close out a win, however, at 25-23.

The teams traded leads in the third game. Knight finished a late 3-0 run to put the men ahead 20-17. Despite a desperate push from Ramapo, the Royals wouldn't relinquish the lead in a 25-23 win, forcing another game.

The even play continued, as neither team led by more than three until late in game four. The Roadrunners pushed to a 21-17 edge after a pair of EMU errors and the men couldn't recover, dropping the match by a 25-21 score.

Chris Moise (Hollywood, Fl./South Broward) led all players with 17 kills and added 13 digs. Senior middle Frankie Coto (Miami, Fl./Southwest Miami), the national leader in blocks, had six stuffs and 12 kills on just 18 attempts.

Nolan Prock (Virginia Beach, Va./Frank W. Cox) had a match high 17 digs to go with his 11 kills. Knight added nine kills.

Setter John Barry (Aaron Bridge, Oh./Worthington Kilbourne) racked up 49 assists in the loss, averaging more than 12 per game.

Paul Konopacki led Ramapo with 16 kills. Joel Castro had 10.

The loss is the fifth in a row for EMU as the men drop to 8-12 on the season. They have also dropped five straight NECVA Metro matches and are 5-5. The Royals hope to end both skids Wednesday night when they play at Lancaster Bible College.