Men's Volleyball's Up and Down Season Continues

CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. - The Brescia Men's Volleyball team traveled back to Campbellsville University this Saturday 2/14 to face off against the Pilots of Bethel (IN). The Pilots came into the weekend with an undefeated record and was just announced by the NAIA as the #10 ranked team in the country.

The Bearcats of Brescia were up to the challenge of facing another top ten ranked squad as they opened the first set with an 8-1 lead forcing a Pilots timeout. With the 12-4 lead, a Bearcats service error sparked a 5-0 run for Bethel.

Brescia finally stopped the run with a kill from Joaquin Palacios, on the pass from Berger. The two teams exchanged points until the Pilots knotted the score at 20. Freshman standout, Ben Zerwes, added two pounding kills to regain the lead. An attacking error by the Pilots handed the Bearcats the set one win 25-23.

In a back-and-forth second set, the Bearcats fell short as the Pilots evened up the set scores. The third set continued the back-and-forth onslaught until Brescia gained the momentum to win set three, 25-20.

This set the stage for an epic fourth set as each team kept the other's lead to just two points. The Bearcats found themselves tied again with Bethel, 24-24. Too many late game errors by BU allowed Bethel to claim the set four victory.

Brescia started the fifth and final set on a 6-3 run. "In a 5-set match, it really could go to either team, The first 5 points of the set your team must set the tone and play clean volleyball. We did just that!" (Coach Forbes) Brescia never let the Pilots of Bethel get any closer than 2 points in the final set to win the match and complete the upset against the #10 team in the nation.

Leading the Bearcats with 17 kills on 35 attempts and just 5 errors was Remi Pit who hit .343 for the match. Also having another great match was senior middle, Mustafa Yildiz, who added 10 kills and six block assists. Helping the Bearcats tally points on the scoreboard was Vandewalle with 12 kills and Zerwes with 10 kills. The defense was led by libero, Miguel Veloso, with a season high 20 digs. Dishing out the assists was Freshman setter William Hernandez with 33.

"This was a big step for our young team. Knowing that you can compete and win at this level, we only help us as we move into conference play." (Coach Forbes)

The second match of the day, the Bearcats faced off against the Jaguars of Governors State.  Brescia kept their energy high in the first set to steal it from the Jaguars, 25-23. Governors State responded with cat like defense and the energy needed to win the match 3-1. The Jaguars kept the Brescia team hitting percentage to a lack luster .134 as no hitter for Brescia recorded double digit kills.

"This is what a young talented team looks like. It's a roller-coaster ride of a season. Our goal moving into conference play is to become more consistent and play as clean of volleyball as we can possible play."

Next up, the men's volleyball team plays their first conference match of the season as they host Rio Grande this Saturday 2/21, with first serve to be at 4:00 p.m.