GREENVILLE, Pa. (Feb. 20) -- The RV Thiel College Men's Volleyball team split a home tri Friday evening on Maenpa Court at Beeghly Gymnasium. The Tomcats (12-7, 3-0 PAC) defeated Geneva College (6-12, 0-3 PAC) in straight sets before falling in four to RV Buffalo State University (14-2, 3-0 AMCC).
Thiel's program-record 18-match home winning streak dating back to 2024 ended in the second match
Match 1: RV Thiel 3, Geneva 0 (25-19, 25-21, 25-20)
Will Zimmerman (Cranberry, Pa./Seneca Valley) set the Thiel career aces record with his 95th at 23-17 in set one . Zimmerman had a match-pacing four aces with four kills and seven digs in the sweep.
Ezra Oesterling (Shelocta, Pa./West Shamokin) led all attackers with 14 kills on .345 with six digs and one block.
Bryce Lizanich (Coraopolis, Pa./Montour) recorded seven kills on .538 eith a trio of blockss while fellow middle
Kaleb Proudfoot (Butler, Pa./Butler) had six kills on .385 with four blocks.
George Schwalm IV (Fort Collins, Colo./Poudre) added a pair of a kills with a career-most five blocks.
Defensively,
Josh Pugh (Wexford, Pa./Pine Richland) had a match-best 10 digs as each side recorded 36 digs for the contest. Thiel held an 8.5 to 4.5 advantage in blocks. The Cats hit .253 and held Geneva to .120.
Eli Olszowka (Erie, Pa./Mercyhurst Prep) led Thiel with 17 assists to go with five digs while
Ben Lowell (Portland, Ore./Sunset) had 12 helpers and an ace. The Tomcats recorded six aces to the Golden Tornadoes' two.
Match 2: RV Thiel 1, RV Buffalo State 3 (23-25, 25-13, 22-25, 27-29)
Thiel had four set-point chances in set four as they looked to force a fifth set, but Buffalo State fended off each try. Trailing 28-27, Lizanich had a swing that appeared to land in the bench-side corner, but the ball was ruled out. After the officials discussed the play, the call on the court was upheld, handing the match to the Bengals.
Thiel dominated in set two, using an extended 11-1 run to turn a 13-10 advantage into a 22-11 lead as they cruised to the 25-13 win to even the match at 1. The Cats hit .588 in the frame and held the Bengals to -.091.
Oesterling led Thiel with 17 kills on .282 to go with eight digs and three aces. Zimmerman notched his first double-double of the year with 12 kills on .286 to go with a match-high-tying 11 digs and contest-best four aces.
Proudfoot logged nine kills on .500 to go with a match-best seven blocks (4 BS, 3 BA). Schwalm IV added four kills and blocks each while
Tyler Hussey (Irwin, Pa./Norwin) had a trio of blocks and kills each. Lizanich added three kills and five blocks (1 BS, 4 BA).
Lowell had a team-best 24 helpers and nine digs while Olszowka dished out 19 assists.
Josh Hovan (Baden, Pa./Ambridge) added six digs.
Thiel held advantages in every major statistical category, having edges in aces (9-7), blocks (14-6), digs (45-43) and hitting (.267 - .160).
Looking Ahead
Thiel is back in action Wednesday for a home 7 p.m. non-conference tilt with current No. 10 Baldwin Wallace.
