The Benedictine University men's volleyball team is in the home stretch of its schedule, as just seven matches remain in the regular season. This week, Benedictine will two matches at the Dan and Ada Rice Center: Wednesday night against Midwest Collegiate Volleyball League foe Loras College and Sunday afternoon against third-ranked New Paltz.
Benedictine is coming off arguably its biggest win as a program, taking down 12th-ranked Rivier University in straight sets. The Eagles won the first two sets 26-24, never trailing in set one and mounting a comeback from four points down in set two. No team led by more than two points in the third set until an attack error from Rivier gave the Eagles a three-point lead and a 25-22 victory.
Sterling Glover recorded double-digit kills for the third straight match (13) and for the fifth time over the last six matches.
Eric Tarnow added eight kills and a .333 hitting percentage, his highest in a match since January 23. In the middle,
Zach Loeding recorded a season-high nine block assists. Benedictine currently occupies sixth place in the eight-team MCVL and is three matches behind fourth-place Lakeland College for the final MCVL Tournament seed.
Wednesday: vs. Loras (3-13, 1-6), 7:00 p.m.
Also a first-year program, the Duhawks have struggled in the MCVL this season. The Dubuque, Iowa school is in seventh place in the conference and has just one league win to its credit: a straight set victory over last-place Fontbonne University. Since, Loras has dropped three straight matches, falling to MCVL foes Mount St. Joseph University and Milwaukee School of Engineering, as well as non-conference foe and Division I opponent IPFW.
The Duhawks and Eagles already met twice this season, with the Eagles prevailing in straight sets in each match. On January 21, Benedictine hosted Loras as a part of a non-conference triangular and received double-digit kills from Tarnow (13) and
Jeremy Villarreal (10) in the victory. The Eagles traveled to Iowa on February 18, as standout performances from
Markus Riemer (33 assists, 10 digs) and
John Mathews (11 kills) led the way.
Sunday: vs. #3 New Paltz (11-3), 2:00 p.m.
Hailing from New Paltz, New York, the Hawks are one of the strongest teams in Division III. Ranked third in the nation, New Paltz is 5-2 this season against ranked opponents and defeated top-ranked Kean University in straight sets last Wednesday. The Hawks are one of the oldest programs in Division III as well, having been around since 1970.
The Hawks are picking up right where they left off in a decorated 2014 campaign. New Paltz finished 28-4 last season, winning the United Volleyball Conference Tournament championship and advancing to the Semifinals of the NCAA Division III Tournament. Currently, the Hawks are on a five-match winning streak and have not lost since February 25.
New Paltz will face New York University on Thursday before heading west to Benedictine, and the Eagles will be the first of five teams the Hawks will face from the MCVL next week. The Hawks will also play at Dominican University, MSOE, and Carthage College and also face Lakeland in a neutral site game.
