BEREA, Ohio – The Baldwin Wallace University men's volleyball team took on Lancaster Bible College and Geneva (Pa.) College in a home non-conference tri-match in the Ursprung Gymnasium inside the Lou Higgins Center. The Yellow Jackets (13-3 overall) fell to the Chargers in five sets before defeating the Golden Tornadoes in straights sets.
BW vs Lancaster Bible (8-3) : 25-19, 25-12, 23-25, 23-25, and 15-17
BW was led by junior All-Midwest Collegiate Volleyball League outside hitter Michael Beard (Hilliard/Darby) as he tallied a match-high 21 kills, hitting .357. He also added six digs and an ace. Junior setter Brandon Long (Hinkley/Metea Valley, Ill.) dished out 51 assists while freshman libero Aiden Kim (Bothell, Wash./North Creek) totaled a career and match-high 21 digs.
After trading sets back-and-forth, the teams found themselves in the tie-breaking fifth set. BW took a 10-8 advantage, forcing the Chargers to a timeout. LBC tied the game back up before the Yellow Jackets went up two again (13-11) on an error by the Chargers. Kills by LBC tied the game at 13 and 14 points apiece. A kill by Beard kept BW in the game (15-15) before the Chargers notched back-to-back kills to claim the set (17-15) and match (3-2).
BW vs Geneva (6-11) : 25-17, 25-20, and 25-23
BW was led by Beard as he tallied a match-high 17 kills, three digs, and two blocks, while hitting .438. Long added another 37 assists and six digs while Kim tallied nine more digs on the day. Sophomore outside hitter Michael Devlin (Zelienople, Pa./Seneca Valley) finished with 12 kills and six digs while Josh Steinitz (Towson, Md./Friends School of Baltimore) hit .556 in the match and added two blocks.
BW got out to a 17-13 lead over the Golden Tornadoes and never looked back. The Yellow Jackets finished set one on a 8-3 run, claiming the 25-17 set one win and hitting .407 as a team. Geneva was just at a one-point deficit (17-16) before a service error and a block by Beard and freshman middle hitter Colby Whiteside (Powell/Olentangy Liberty) put BW up three (19-16). The Yellow Jackets earned the set two win (25-20) with five kills and an error by the Golden Tornadoes. BW got out to a commanding 17-9 advantage before GC stormed back to tie the game at 19-19. A big kill by Beard and a block by the Whiteside and Long duo earned BW the advantage point at 22-21. After the Golden Tornadoes tied the set at 22-22, the Yellow Jackets tallied the next three of four points, claiming the set (25-23) and match (3-0) victory.
The Yellow Jackets return to play on Saturday, January 25 as the team travels to Erie, Pennsylvania for two non-conference games. BW will take on Penn State Altoona at 2:00 p.m. and Penn State-Behrend at 4:00 p.m. inside the Junker Center.
