WASHINGTON - The Gallaudet University men's volleyball split a home tri-match here Saturday on Padden Court in the Field House.
Despite making a spirited game out of their first match Gallaudet (2-13, 0-2 United East) ultimately dropped a heartbreaker to Cairn University in four sets, 3-1, between the two United East foes.
The Bison gave it all they had, narrowly losing the first set, 24-26, and conceded the second set to the Highlanders, 13-25 before mounting a furious rally in the final two sets of the match. GU won the third set, 25-21, and pushed Cairn to extra points in the fourth and final set before the Bison lost, 28-30.
The second match of the day had the Highlanders going up against Penn St.-Schuylkill. Cairn (4-6, 2-1 United East) handled the Nittany Lions in straight sets; 25-18, 25-19, 25-17.
Gallaudet got off to a strong start in the final match of the day against Penn St.-Schuylkill (0-13). The Bison went up 19-6 in the first set before winning it, 25-14. The Bison then went on cruise control and swept the Nittany Lions out of the Field House, with set wins of 25-8 and 25-13. This was Gallaudet's first home win this season and the first in several decades. GU went winless at home in 2012 and 2013 before the sport was dropped. Prior to that the sport was popular on campus in the 1970s.
First year setter
Troy Holcomb (Fremont, Calif.) set the tone for the Bison early on in the day with 28 assists in the first match and ultimately ended the day with 46 assists overall (18 in the second match). First-year libero
Elian Zfati (Brooklyn, N.Y.) added to the statistical haul for the team with 27 digs combined for the day (22 digs in the first match and five in the final match).
Other notable players included first-year opposite
Zachary Bippus (Fishers, Ind.), who garnered 14 digs and eight kills combined, and first-year outside hitter
Kodi Lee (Lehi, Utah), who served up eight aces and nine kills in the two matches.
UP NEXT
The Bison will travel to Morristown, N.J., for a United East conference match up versus Saint Elizabeth University on Wednesday, March 12.