AURORA, Ill. – The Baldwin Wallace University men's volleyball team faced Aurora University in a non-conference match inside of the Thornton Gymnasium. The Yellow Jackets dropped the match in three sets by final set scores of 28-26, 25-22, and 25-20. 

BW (16-6, 1-0 MCVL) was led by junior All-Midwest Collegiate Volleyball League outside hitter Michael Beard (Hilliard/Darby) as he posted a match-high 12 kills, hitting .391, and added five digs. Freshman middle hitter Josh Steinitz (Towson, Md./Friends School of Baltimore) notched 10 kills and four blocks while junior setter Brandon Long (Hinckley/Metea Valley, Ill) dished out 31 assists and added five digs. Freshman libero Aiden Kim (Bothell, Wash./North Creek) tallied 10 digs and two assists.

Aurora (5-9, 2-1 NACC) was led by freshman outside hitter Mateo Scharosch as he notched a team-high eight kills and four blocks. Sophomore libero Alex Nonhof totaled a match-high 14 digs and added five assists.

1st Set

• The first game was point-for-point as the teams shared 15 tie scores and seven lead changes
• BW hit .326 as a team in the first set to Aurora's .276
• With BW up one point, the Spartans notched two in-a-row with a kill and an ace to grab the advantage at 26-25
• The Yellow Jackets tied the game up again with a kill by Beard, before Aurora got back-to-back kills to win the set (28-26) 

2nd Set

• After being down 15-13, BW notched four straight points with a couple kills by Beard and a kill from sophomore outside hitter Michael Devlin (Zelienople, Pa./Seneca Valley)
• Outscoring the Yellow Jackets 5-1 points in the next six points, the Spartans found themselves up 20-18
• The Spartans outscored the Yellow Jackets 5-2 the end the second set (25-22)

3rd Set

• Down 14-10, BW tallied the next four points the tie the game
• BW was down four points again at 20-16, and notched two points on kills by Steinitz to close the gap
• Unable to close in on the Spartans, Aurora went on to claim set three (25-20) and the match (3-0)

BW is back in action on Saturday, March 11 as the team faces Wisconsin Lutheran College and Illinois Institute of Technology in a non-conference ti-match hosted by Illinois Tech. The Yellow Jackets will face Wisconsin Lutheran at 4:00 p.m. and Illinois Tech at 6:00 p.m. inside of the Keating Sports Center.