GREENVILLE, Pa. (Jan. 31) -- The Thiel College Men's Volleyball team took down Roanoke College in four sets and No. 18 St. John Fisher in a five-set thriller Saturday on Maenpa Court at Beeghly Gymnasium in a pair of non-conference clashes.
The Tomcats now sit at 6-4 as they have collected a ranked victory in back-to-back seasons for the first time since the 2013-14 seasons. The win also marks Thiel's first ever home ranked victory.
Match 2: Thiel 3, No. 18 St. John Fisher 2 (18-25, 27-25, 13-25, 25-23, 15-12)
Trailing 15-11 in set four, Thiel used an 8-0 run with
Ben Lowell (Portland, Ore./Sunset) at the service line to pull ahead 19-15. An Ezra Oetserling kill started the run while
Bryce Lizanich (Coraopolis, Pa./Montour) had a pair of blocks in the spurt. Fisher pulled within 1 at 24-23 after saving two set points but a stuff block from
Will Zimmerman (Cranberry, Pa./Seneca Valley) and
Kaleb Proudfoot (Butler, Pa./Butler) forced the deciding fifth set.
The Tomcats climbed ahead 6-3 in set five with an Oesterling kill along with a Lizanich kill and block. The Cardinals (4-2) got within 1 at 11-10 but an Oesterling kill kickstarted a 3-1 run all with kills from Oesterling as a service error ended the match and gave the Tomcats the upset win.
Oesterling recorded a match-best 19 kills to go with six digs. Lizanich tallied six kills and a team-leading five blocks (three solo, two assisted).
Proudfoot smacked eight kills, recorded five digs and had a trio of blocks. Zimmerman added eight kills, a team-most two aces and three blocks.
Lowell distributed 19 assists and led the Tomcats with 11 digs for his first double-double of the season.
Eli Olszowka (Erie, Pa./Mercyhurst Prep) had a team-most 22 helpers to go with seven digs.
A
George Schwalm IV (Fort Collins, Colo./Poudre) kill gave Thiel a 9-8 lead in set two. Fisher led 20-17 in the set before a 4-0 Thiel run with Zimmerman at the service line made it 21-20. Each side recorded 3 straight points as the Tomcats had a set point at 24-23 and ultimately took the frame 27-25.
Schwalm IV recorded seven kills and five digs to go with a pair of blocks.
Tyler Hussey (Irwin, Pa./Norwin) added four kills on .250 in the win.
Digs were even at 51 a piece as
Josh Hovan (Baden, Pa./Ambridge) added 10 at libero. The Cardinals held an 11.5 to 9 advantage in blocks.
Match 1: Thiel 3, Roanoke 1 (25-21, 20-25, 34-32, 26-24)
Set three tied the program record for highest scoring set at 34-32. The frame featured 14 ties and four lead changes. The Tomcats saved three set points at 26-25, 27-26 and 28-27. A Proudfoot kill gave the Tomcats a 32-31 edge before a combo block from Proudfoot and
Rex Dugan (Covington, Wash./Tahoma) along with a Zimmerman kill sealed the set for Thiel.
Proudfoot dominated in the middle with a career-high 18 kills on 33 swings to hit .515. He added a team-most five blocks and three digs. Zimmerman mashed 13 kills on .417 to go with eight digs and a match-most two aces. Dugan finished with a pair of blocks.
Set four had 12 ties and three lead changes. The Maroons (4-1, 2-0 ODAC) led 22-20 before the Blue and Gold ended the match with 6-of-8 as Zimmerman, Oesterling and Proudfoot each had kills in the run to seal the win.
Oesterling posted a contest-most 19 kills on .289 to go with seven digs.
Thiel used a 3-0 set-one run with kills from Hussey and Zimmerman along with a Schwalm IV-Lizanich block to lead 19-17. Roanoke drew even at 19 before a 4-0 run capped with a Zimmerman ace propelled the Tomcats ahead 23-19. Kills from Lizanich and Proudfoot clinched the set-one win for Thiel.
Schwalm IV tallied six kills and a trio of blocks while Lizanich added six kills and two blocks. Hussey contributed a pair of kills and a block.
Lowell had a match-leading 33 assists to go with eight digs while Olszowka added 26 helpers and four digs.
Roanoke held a slight edge in digs (49-48) as
Brandon Gala (Pittsburgh, Pa./Upper St. Clair) had a career-high-tying and team-leading 10 digs.
Josh Pugh (Wexford, Pa./Pine Richland) added five. Blocking was also fairly even as Roanoke notched nine blocks to Thiel's eight. The Tomcats sat at .308 hitting to the Maroons' .300.
Looking Ahead
Thiel is back in action Thursday with a non-conference battle at Penn State Behrend beginning at 7 p.m.
