The EMU volleyball men suffered a 3-0 setback to Thiel College at home Saturday afternoon, and were eliminated from contention for a playoff spot in the process.  The Royals fall to 1-6 in the CVC East and are now four games behind third-place Thiel with just three conference matches left.  The top three from each of the CVC's two divisions qualify for the CVC Tournament.

The Tomcats scored the first two points of the contest and never let go of the slight edge, winning 25-21 in game one.

EMU looked like a different team early in game two, surging to a 4-1 lead.  The men were still up 10-7 until a 5-0 Tomcat run put the visitors in front.  The Royals answered with a 5-2 run to get back in the lead, but Thiel responded again with a 4-0 run, and then scored the final three of the game to win 25-20.

The loss seemed to take the wind out of the men's sails in the third game.  Eastern Mennonite held a slight edge at 12-11 before the Tomcats ended the day on a 14-3 streak to win 25-15.

The Royals struggled at the net, hitting just .067, their third-lowest total of the season.  Thiel hit .267.  Quentin Moore (Richmond, Va./Highland Springs) had 17 kills, but also had 14 errors.  Marc Lovell (Newport News, Va./Menchville) and Jesse Reist (Lancaster, Pa./J.P. McCaskey) each added six kills.  Matt Dolan (Chester, Va./Thomas Dale) had 29 assists.

Zach Guiciardi (Creighton, Pa./Deer Lakes) had nine digs, with Lovell and Reist each adding seven.  Kyle Storc (Columbus, Oh./Bishop Watterson) had three blocks.

EMU evens their record at 11-11 with the loss.  Their next match is at Stevenson on Friday.