For the third straight year, it was a successful start for the EMU men's volleyball team, as they rolled over Lancaster Bible College in a season-opening 3-0 sweep.  The Royals have now won their first match of the season three times in a row.

Eastern Mennonite scored the first point of the year on a kill by junior Jesse Reist (Lancaster, Pa./J.P. McCaskey) and never looked back, winning 25-13 in the first game.  Tim Callahan (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) started the scoring in game two with a similar result, a 25-16 win.

As the Royals experimented with their lineup in game three, Lancaster Bible found some rhythm and worked out to a 9-5 lead.  EMU started chipping into to small deficit and then scored five in a row to jump back in front, 15-13.  The Chargers tied it at 15-15 and the two teams traded ties all the way to 19-19.  From there the men took over, closing the night on a 6-1 run to clinch the sweep, 25-20.

Eastern Mennonite controlled the contest by hitting .156 as a team, compared to -.056 for LBC.

Callahan had a successful start to his EMU career, leading the team with 11 kills.  Reist put down seven kills.  Freshman Dan Lutz (Greencastle, Pa./Greencastle-Antrim) got three kills on just five swings in one game of action.  Russell Long (Hampton, Va./Bethel) put up 15 set assists, with Zach Guiciardi (Creighton, Pa./Deer Lakes) getting 10 assists.

Libero Micah Buller (Richmond, Va./Douglas Freeman) led a very balanced back row with six digs.  Six other Royals had four or five digs.  Reist and Joe Spriggs (Chester, Va./Thomas Dale) each had a pair of blocks.

After their home opening, Eastern Mennonite takes to the road for their next six matches.  They play a tri-match at Penn State-Altoona this Saturday, playing the hosts as well as Penn State-Behrend.

Coach Dom Porter talks about the successful start to his second season: