EMU's volleyball men had an impressive offensive showing in Saturday's sweep of Penn State-Altoona.  Unfortunately that didn't help them earlier in the day in a disappointing 3-1 loss to CVC opponent Marymount University in Harrisonburg.

The Royals stand at 8-8 overall and 2-4 in the conference.  They have a week off before playing at Cairn and Rutgers-Newark next weekend.

Marymount 3, EMU 1
The day started with the key contest, a Continental Volleyball Conference match between two teams likely fighting for positioning in the third- through fifth-place spots in the standings.  Only the top four make the postseason tournament.

The Royals broke off a 13-13 tie to a 20-15 lead, capped by a service ace from Travis Abele (Mechanicsville, Va./Lee-Davis).  But Marymount surged right back with a 7-1 run to grab a 22-21 edge.  The score pushed passed 25, with each serving for set points, before the Saints scored three straight to win 28-26.

Behind a pair of service aces from William Ragland (North Chesterfield, Va./Thomas Dale), EMU put up the first five in the second set.   The men had a six-point lead a handful of times before closing on a 3-0 run to even things out with a 25-19 win.

The men again scored first in the third set, tacking on two quick points, but Marymount scored the next seven to go ahead 7-2.  EMU never got closer than three the rest of the way in a 25-16 loss.

Momentum seemed to favor Eastern Mennonite in the fourth as they led by as many as four points.  But the Saints eventually tied the score at 16-16, and then used a 5-0 run to flip in front, 22-18.  The Royals got within 23-22 but MU had the answer, putting in two quick ones to win, 25-22.

Ragland led Eastern Mennonite with 14 kills, while Scott Brigham (Montpelier, Va./Patrick Henry) added 13.  Abele was good for 12 and 11 digs.  Setter Christian Taylor (Richmond, Va./Deep Run) put up 44 assists.

The defense racked up 11 blocks.  Dan Lutz (Greencastle, Pa./Greencastle-Antrim) had his hands on seven, including one solo, while Brigham and RJ Ocampo (Virginia Beach, Va./First Colonial) each had four.

Marymount was led by 18 kills from TJ Wiechecki, while middles Tomasz Ksiazkiewicz and Graham Clark combined for 23 kills.

EMU 3, Penn State-Altoona 0
The Royals' offense was in high gear in the final match of the day.  An 8-0 run late in the first set gave them a huge lead, which Abele finished off with a kill in a 25-18 win.

Set two was much tighter, but back-to-back aces from Brigham gave EMU the space they needed late in a 25-23 decision.

The third set went past 25, with ties 22, 23, 24, 25, 26 and 27.  Finally a pair of miscues from the Lions gave Eastern Mennonite a 29-27 clincher.

The Royals hit a season high. 370 as a team, bettering their previous high of .333 in a sweep of Lancaster Bible on Jan. 20.

Lutz was unstoppable out of the middle, hammering a career high 12 kills on just 17 swings.  He finished the day with 20 kills and no errors in 30 attacks.  The middle added another five blocks, totaling 12 on the day.

Brigham hit. 321 from the outside with a match high 14 kills to go with three service aces.  Ragland was good for 11 kills.  Taylor had 46 assists, a career best in a three-set match.

Abele had nine digs while Brigham and libero Micah Buller (Richmond, Va./Douglas Freeman) each added eight.

Matt Huey topped Penn State-Altoona with 13 kills and five blocks.

Coach Dominick Porter said his men played well on Saturday: