GREENVILLE, Pa. (April 9) -- Top-seeded Thiel College men's volleyball dominated third-seeded Hiram College in straight sets Wednesday evening, securing a second consecutive Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Championship Tournament final appearance Saturday at 6 p.m. on Maenpa Court at Beeghly Gymnasium.
The Tomcats, the reigning PAC champions, tied the program's single-season wins record, improving to 22-8, and will take on third-seeded Chatham in Saturday's championship tilt, with the winner earning the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Thiel hit an astronomical .576 in the win, setting a new single-match program record. The Cats also finished with more aces (12) than service errors (11) for just the second time this season.
The Blue and Gold used a 4-0 run in set one to build a 14-7 lead. A 3-0 spurt, capped by a Kaleb Proudfoot (Butler, Pa./Butler) kill, made it 22-14 before a Tyler Hussey (Irwin, Pa./Norwin) kill closed out the opening set.
Proudfoot recorded six kills on .750 hitting while adding two blocks and two aces. Hussey chipped in four kills and a block.
A 7-0 Cats run in set two, with Ezra Oesterling (Shelocta, Pa./West Shamokin) at the service line, pushed the lead to 10-5 as he recorded three aces during the stretch. A George Schwalm IV (Fort Collins, Colo./Poudre) kill followed by three Will Zimmerman (Cranberry, Pa./Seneca Valley) kills extended the advantage to 16-7 before a Bryce Lizanich (Coraopolis, Pa./Montour) kill and another Oesterling ace gave Thiel a 2-0 match lead.
Oesterling led all attackers with nine kills on .500 hitting to go along with six aces and four digs. Zimmerman totaled seven kills on .636 while adding three aces. Lizanich posted eight kills on .636 with a block and two digs, while Schwalm IV logged three kills on .600 with two blocks.
Thiel continued to control the match in set three, hitting .583 while holding Hiram (9-14) to a -.133 clip en route to the sweep.
Eli Olszowka (Erie, Pa./Mercyhurst Prep) dished out a match-best 18 assists with three digs, while Ben Lowell (Portland, Ore./Sunset) added 11 assists and an ace. Josh Pugh (Wexford, Pa./Pine Richland) contributed four digs and Josh Hovan (Baden, Pa./Ambridge) recorded three as Thiel held a 25-15 advantage in digs.
Thiel will host Chatham in the PAC Championship Saturday at 6 p.m. on Maenpa Court. The match will be a whiteout, and tickets can be purchased in advance here or at the door with cash or card.
