EMU volleyball's men now have their second three-match winning streak of the season after a 3-0 sweep of CVC opponent Thiel Saturday morning in Greenville, Pa. The No. 10 Royals improve to 9-4 overall and 3-0 in the CVC.

The men will host Cairn on Friday evening at 6:00pm, starting what can best be described as a quad match this weekend. Non-conference Bard College will make the trip to Harrisonburg, playing Cairn on Friday, as well as Rutgers-Newark and EMU on Saturday. The Royals will also play CVC-power Rutgers-Newark at 11:00am on Saturday, as Yoder Arena will host five matches in less than 24 hours.

The contest against Thiel (3-6/1-3 CVC) was tougher than anticipated, with the Tomcats grabbing an early lead. EMU had a spurt midway through the set to get in front, and didn't give up the edge in a 25-23 opener.

The Royals slowly worked to a five-point lead in the second set. Thiel fought off three straight match points before the men closed the door, 25-22.

The third set was characterized by runs for each team, with each holding a lead of four points. Eastern Mennonite scored two in a row to break off a 22-22 tie, but the Tomcats again fought off the ending, pushing through six match points before the Royals finally clinched the day at 30-28.

Scott Brigham (Montpelier, Va./Patrick Henry) led the way with a double double at 13 kills and 10 digs. Tim Callahan (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) also landed 13 kills. Josh Elmore (Chester, Va./Matoaca) was good for seven kills and 10 digs. Christian Taylor (Richmond, Va./Deep Run) put up 41 assists.

Middles R.J. Ocampo (Virginia Beach, Va./First Colonial) and Dan Lutz (Greencastle, Pa./Greencastle-Antrim) each had three blocks.

Cody Patterson had 14 kills and five blocks to lead Thiel.