PITTSBURGH, Pa. – The Thiel College men's volleyball team opened play in the Steel City Freeze Tournament Saturday at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center with non-conference losses to Wittenberg (3-1) and Nazareth (3-0).
Wittenberg won 25-15 in the first set. After the Tomcats won 25-19 in the second set, the Tigers won the third and fourth sets (25-21, 25-22) to secure the win.
Zac Smith (Pittsburgh, Pa./Keystone Oaks) led the Tomcats against the Tigers with 10 kills and 10 digs.
Jake Dies (Cambridge Springs, Pa./Cambridge Springs) tallied nine kills while
Connor McInnis (Southington, Conn. /Southington) and
JC Govannucci (North Huntington, Pa./Norwin) recorded six kills apiece.
Brandon Millias (North Syracuse, N.Y./Cicero-North Syracuse ) registered 32 assists while
Ricky Castillo (New Lenox, Ill./Lincoln Way West) contributed nine digs.
Dominic Melchiorre led Wittenberg with 17 kills while also chipping in with eight digs. Jack Boone tallied 14 kills while Russ Burke recorded 12 kills and led his team with 11 digs. Aaron Giorgi registered 49 assists.
The Nazareth Golden Flyers defeated the Tomcats in straight sets, 25-16, 25-22, 25-19.
Smith led Thiel with 11 kills against Nazareth. Govannucci and
Colton Greenlee (Cochranton, Pa./Cochranton) recorded five kills apiece while Castillo notched eight digs. Millias handed out 22 assists.
Antonio Sargent led the Golden Flyers with nine kills and seven digs. Andrew Bodensteiner contributed eight kills.
The Tomcats will face the University of Mount Union Purple Raiders during the second day of the Steel City Freeze Tournament on Sunday. The match is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m.
