SPRINGFIELD, Ohio (Jan. 17) -- The Thiel College Men's Volleyball team opened day two of Wittenberg University's Jim Coleman Memorial Invitational with a sweep of Marian University Saturday afternoon from 1929 Gymnasium.
The Tomcats rise to 2-1 with set score wins of 25-16, 25-17 and 25-27 while the Sabres drop to 0-3.
Thiel used a 9-3 set-one run to jump ahead 16-9. 3 straight Tomcat points beginning with a
George Schwalm IV (Fort Collins, Colo./Poudre) kill and ending with an
Ezra Oesterling (Shelocta, Pa./West Shamokin) kill grew Thiel's lead to 21-12 as an
Eli Olszowka (Erie, Pa./Mercyhurst Prep) ace ended the frame a few points later.
Oesterling led all attackers with 17 kills on .375. His 17 kills are tied for seventh-most in a three-set match in team history. Oesterling dug a team-leading nine balls and added a pair of aces in the triumph.
Schwalm IV added six kills and six digs while Olszowka dished out a contest-leading 30 assists to go with two blocks.
Will Zimmerman (Cranberry, Pa./Seneca Valley) opened set two with a kill as Thiel forged ahead 5-1. Thiel led by as many as 7 on multiple occasions in the set as
Bryce Lizanich (Coraopolis, Pa./Montour) mashed three kills in the frame.
Lizanich totaled six kills on .545 to go with three digs and a block. Zimmerman whacked five kills and had a pair of blocks.
Thiel trailed 16-12 in set three before a 3-0 run with a pair of Oesterling kills made it 16-15. The Tomcats used a -1 spurt to jump ahead 23-22 as the Sabres had four errors, one coming on an Oesterling solo stuff. The Tomcats saved a set point at 24-23 as they tallied 4-of-5 to end the set and match.
Kaleb Proudfoot (Butler, Pa./Butler) saw his first action in set three as he had a kill and a block. At libero,
Josh Hovan (Baden, Pa./Ambridge) had six digs and
Josh Pugh (Wexford, Pa./Pine Richland) added four.
Thiel is back in action at approximately 1 p.m. against host RV Wittenberg at Pam Evans Smith arena following the conclusion of the Westminster (Mo.)-Eastern Mennonite clash.
