DALLAS, Pa. (Jan. 24) -- The Thiel College Men's Volleyball team posted a sweep of Elmira College and fell in four sets to No. 7 Messiah University Saturday at Misericordia University's Cougar Kickoff Classic from Anderson Sports-Health Center.
The Tomcats now sit at 3-4 on the young season as they return home next week with a trio of matches on Maenpa Court.
Match 1: Thiel 3, Elmira 0 (25-22, 26-24, 25-21)
Thiel hit .493 in the sweep, the second-best single-match mark in program history. The Blue and Gold rattled off nine aces in the triumph.
The Tomcats tallied back-to-back points in set one to lead 22-19 before the Soaring Eagles (2-2) answered with 2 to make it 22-21. The Blue and Gold closed the frame with 3-of-4, 2 coming on kills from
Ezra Oesterling (Shelocta, Pa./West Shamokin) to take the first set.
Oesterling posted a match-best 15 kills on .565 from the outside to go with a pair of aces and digs each.
Elmira led 13-9 in set two before a
Will Zimmerman (Cranberry, Pa./Seneca Valley) kill kickstarted a 9-6 Thiel spurt capped with a
Bryce Lizanich (Coraopolis, Pa./Montour) ace to get within 1 at 19-18. An Oesterling kill saved a set point at 24-23 as an Oesterling ace followed by a Lizanich kill gave the Tomcats a 2-0 lead. A
George Schwalm IV (Fort Collins, Colo./Poudre) kill capped a 3-1 Thiel run that pushed the Tomcats ahead 22-19 in set three. Kills by Oesterling, Zimmerman and Lizanich clinched the frame and the sweep for Thiel.
Zimmerman notched 10 kills and no errors on 12 swings to hit an outrageous .833 from the left pin. He added four digs and an ace. Lizanich mashed 9 kills on 12 swings to hit .667 as he added a team-high-tying two blocks.
Schwalm IV totaled seven kills on .385 and had a team-best five digs.
Ben Lowell (Portland, Ore./Sunset) distributed a match-high 30 assists and had three digs.
Match 2: Thiel 1, No. 7 Messiah 3 (23-25, 25-19, 17-25, 18-25)
Thiel erased an 11-7 hole in set one with a 5-2 run capped on a
Kaleb Proudfoot (Butler, Pa./Butler) kill to get within 1 at 13-12. Kills by Zimmerman and Oesterling got Thiel within 1 at 20-19 and 21-20 but the Falcons (4-0) played sideout ball in route to the set-one win.
Oesterling led Thiel with 11 kills and six digs on .269 while Proudfoot and Zimmerman each had seven kills. Proudfoot had a trio of blocks and hit .667 while Zimmerman sat at .294.
Thiel closed set two with a 5-0 run as kills by Oesterling and
Tyler Hussey (Irwin, Pa./Norwin) along with a Hussey-Proudfoot combo block proppelled the Tomcats to even the match at 1. Hussey pitched in three kills and blocks each in the defeat.
A Lowell-Lizanich stuff block in set three got Thiel within 2 at 18-16, but Messiah closed with 7-of-8 to pull ahead 2-1. A block from Schwalm IV and Lizanich pushed Thiel ahead 11-8 in set four, but the Falcons rattled off 5 in a row and 8-of-10 to lead 16-13. Thiel got as close as 2 down on a Proudfoot kill to make it 17-15 before another long Messiah run gave them the victory.
Lizanich recorded seven kills on .462 to go with a match-bets six blocks. Schwalm IV added five kills, three blocks and two digs.
Lowell logged 23 helpers while
Eli Olszowka (Erie, Pa./Mercyhurst Prep) added 12 assists. The Tomcats hit .352 in the loss.
Looking Ahead
Thiel is back in action next Tuesday when they host Mount Union for the 2025 PAC Champions ring ceremony at 7 p.m. on Maenpa Court.
