By: Athletic Communications Student Assistant Joe Meyer '24 

ALLIANCE, Ohio - The Baldwin Wallace University men's volleyball team came from behind to take down Wittenberg University in four sets in a Midwest Collegiate Volleyball League Tournament Semifinal in the Timken Gymnasium inside the McPherson Athletic and Academic Complex. The second-seeded Yellow Jackets rallied to take down the third-seeded Tigers by set scores of 22-25, 25-23, 26-24, and 25-21, as the three-year-old program advanced to its first-ever MCVL title match.

BW (25-7) was led by sophomore All-MCVL right-side hitter Michael Devlin (Zelienople, Pa. /Seneca Valley), as he recorded a match-high 18 kills and six digs. Junior All-MCVL setter Brandon Long (Hinckley/Metea Valley, Ill.) added 46 assists, a team-high eight digs, and three blocks. All five of the Yellow Jackets' starting attackers recorded at least eight kills and freshman middle hitter Josh Steinitz (Towson, Md./Friends School of Baltimore) registered a .727 hitting percentage on eight kills and 11 attempts, the second-highest clip of his career.

Wittenberg (19-10) was led by freshman outside hitter Eli Halverson's team-high 16 kills and .419 hitting percentage. Senior middle hitter Dominic Melchiorre added seven kills and contributed to seven of the team's nine total blocks.

FIRST SET

• Back-to-back kills by freshman middle hitter Colby Whiteside (Powell/Olentangy Liberty) gave BW an early 14-12 advantage.
• With the set tied at 18, Wittenberg took control of the set with a 4-1 run.
• The Tigers converted their final nine side-out opportunities of the first set en route to a 25-22 victory in set one.

SECOND SET

• BW took an early four-point edge on the heels of a serving run by junior All-MCVL outside hitter Michael Beard (Hilliard/Darby).
• Consecutive kills by Beard, Long, and Devlin gave the Yellow Jackets a commanding 21-17 lead.
• Wittenberg battled back to cut the lead to 23-22, forcing a BW timeout.
• Out of the timeout, a kill by Beard and a Wittenberg attack error gave the Yellow Jackets a 25-23 second-set victory. 

THIRD SET

• The Yellow Jackets stormed out to a 6-1 lead, but Wittenberg responded with a 10-2 run to take an 11-8 lead.
• Two kills by junior outside hitter Nick Irelan (Powell/Olentangy Liberty) helped spark a 6-0 run, flipping the tables once again and putting BW up 14-11.
• BW held leads of 18-14, 20-17, and 22-20 before Wittenberg fought back to tie the set at 23-all.
• Unphased by the Tigers' rally, BW won three of the next four points, closing out a 26-24 decision on a massive solo block by Long.

FOURTH SET

• Both teams traded points early in the set and found themselves tied at 13-all.
• Wittenberg took a 19-16 lead, but Beard and Devlin each tallied two kills in a span of five total points as BW battled back to tie the set at 20-all.
• A block by Whiteside and Devlin gave the Yellow Jackets a 22-20 advantage, forcing a Wittenberg timeout.
• Beard kept the momentum rolling out of the timeout, registering his third ace of the evening to give BW a 23-20 lead.
• Whiteside delivered his first and only ace of the day on match point, as the Yellow Jackets took the fourth set 25-21 to advance to Saturday's title match.
• BW closed the match on a 9-1 run. 

With the win, the Yellow Jackets advance to the Championship match of the MCVL Tournament, set for tomorrow (Saturday, April 15) at 4:00 p.m in Timken Gymnasium inside the McPherson Academic and Athletic Complex on the campus of the University of Mount Union. 

BW will take on the winner of Friday's second semifinal between the top-seeded Purple Raiders and fourth-seeded Trine (Ind.) University. The winner of tomorrow's match will earn an automatic berth to the NCAA Division III tournament.