GROVE CITY, Pa. (Feb. 18) -- The RV Thiel Men's Volleyball team took care of Grove City College in straight sets Wednesday evening in a Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) clash from College Arena.
The Tomcats improve to 11-6 (2-0) with set score wins of 25-21, 25-12 and 25-20 while the Wolverines dip to 7-7 (0-1).
Both sides struggled to gain their footing in set one, with each squad hitting negative. The Thiel defense made the difference in the frame with four blocks. A
George Schwalm IV (Fort Collins, Colo./Poudre) solo stuff capped a 3-0 run that pushed Thiel ahead 17-16. The Cats ended the set with 4 in a row as an Erza Oesterling kill and block along with a pair of
Will Zimmerman (Cranberry, Pa./Seneca Valley) points gave Thiel the set.
Oesterling led all attackers with eight kills on .294 while Schwalm IV had five kills on .714 and two blocks. Zimmerman recorded five kills in the win.
The Cats offense improved in set two as they hit .500 and held the Wolverines to .105. With
Kaleb Proudfoot (Butler, Pa./Butler) as the service line, Thiel notched a 4-0 run with a
Bryce Lizanich (Coraopolis, Pa./Montour) kill to lead 24-11 as an Oesterling kill capped the frame.
Proudfoot recorded four kills and a match-best five blocks (3 BS, 2 BA). Lizanich added four kills and a trio of blocks.
Thiel jumped ahead early in set three with a
Tyler Hussey (Irwin, Pa./Norwin) and Proudfoot combo block that kickstarted a 4-0 spurt to make it 11-6. The home side made a late push, but an Oesterling kill sealed the Thiel win.
Hussey added a kill and three blocks in the triumph.
Eli Olszowka (Erie, Pa./Mercyhurst Prep) had a match-pacing 12 assists and five digs.
Ben Lowell (Portland, Ore./Sunset) had six helpers and three digs.
Thiel held a 22-17 edge in digs as
Josh Hovan (Baden, Pa./Ambridge) had a contest-high-tying six. Thiel recorded 11 blocks (6 BS, 10 BA) to Grove City's six (2 BS, 8 BA).
The RV Tomcats are back in action Friday for a home tri against Geneva (4 p.m.) and RV Buffalo State (8 p.m.).
