At Brooks Gym, M.U. (25-15, 19-25, 25-18, 25-16)
John's Commentary:
"I thought that we played pretty well considering we have had only three practices this semester, and we played a pretty solid opponent in Ship. I can honestly say that I think our crowd had at least a small effect on them; our crowd was ruthless and consistent, I would hate to be the other team. Thanks to the crowd. Middle Hitter Andrew Yeager (21 years old) played a stellar streak of matches in the postgame beer pong tournament, with partner and former Millersville opposite Adam VanLeer (21 years old), as he came through with Andy Van Slyke and Punky Brewster, in the naming of outstanding '80s pop and sports icons. Next up for the volleyball team is Susquehanna this coming Friday, who we should not overlook. Last time we did that playing at home, we found ourselves in a 0-2 hole, before battling back. We beat them at the Ship Tournament in two straight, although we played really well. They'll be tough."
Coach's Commentary:
"From the outset, this match was bound to be a true test for both teams. In the NIRSA D-II pre-season rankings, 'Ville was ranked #17 and Ship #21, and both clubs have a wealth of talent and experience. Ship returns two all-conference players in setter Rus Werner (2nd team) and oustide hitter Jeremy Warner (1st team) while 'Ville returns the MACVC's 3-time 1st team all-conference setter, Nate Gajecki. Nate is surrounded by a terrific collection of hitters, with Tracey Schafer playing the newly added Libero position.
'Ville jumped out to an early lead (7-3) on the strength of some near flawless execution off of Schafer's passing and kills by Gajecki, John Wagaman, Ryan Wood, Keith Kohler, and Matt Shetzline, with strong serving by Wagaman. Gajecki spread the ball around early, demonstrating that Ship would have to stop each of 'Ville's hitters in order to win the match.
The teams then traded several side-outs, before Duston Gladfelter put away three consecutive sets from Gajecki, and Keith Kohler bombed two jump serves for aces. The teams closed out the game on side-outs, with 'Ville winning 25-15.
The second game brought a much more spirited defensive effort from Ship, as they began to key on Gajecki's sets to Gladfelter. Shetzline carried the offensive load for the game, and 'Ville put up a great block (4 solos and a double), but 'Ville's hitting errors ('Ville hit .080 for the game), combined with Ship's superior execution off of serve-receive was too much to overcome, with Ship taking the second game, 25-19.
The third game started out as a continuation of the second game, with 'Ville continuing to make hitting errors, as well as missing serves. In fact, of Ship's first 11 points, five were from 'Ville hitting errors, and four from missed serves. Fortunately, Ship was not able to execute much better, contributing four hitting errors of their own, while unable to stop 'Ville on serve-receive when 'Ville decided to keep the ball in the court. Coach took a time out to remind the team that Ship wasn't playing all that well either and that if 'Ville could return the ball, Ship might make the mistakes instead.
Following, the time out, Wood blasted a ball from the outside, and Gajecki dropped five jumper bombs on Ship for four points and an ace, to take a 15-13 lead. After Ship blocked 'Ville twice, and 'Ville had chipped in two more hitting errors, Hake took his remaining time out to again remind the team to play a more patient offense and allow Ship to make the mistakes. Wood then blasted anotehr Gajecki set for a side-out and contributed another kill and a solo block, while Wagaman blasted away seven deep floaters at Ship's libero, generating four aces, and six points. Wood again got the side-out for 'Ville, and after a Ship missed serve, Gladfelter put away the game off of a Gajecki set. Final score, 25-18, with 'Ville generating 12 of Ship's 18 points on either hitting errors or missed serves, hitting .030 as a team.
The fourth game proved to be the best of the match, from 'Ville's standpoint. 'Ville generated 17 of their 25 points off of their own kills, another three on aces, and two on blocks. Gladfelter and Wagaman carried the load, hitting a combined .625, with 10 kills on 16 attempts, and no hitting errors. Wood, Shetzline and Erick Macek contributed 2 kills each to the effort, while Tracey Schafer passed flawlessly the entire game. The team hit .353 with a final score of 25-16.
Millersville won the match in four games: 25-15, 19-25, 25-18, 25-16.
All-in-all, the effort was not characterized by our offensive execution (we hit .190 for the match), but instead, by strong serving (14 aces to none for Ship), better blocking ('Ville 12, Ship 8), consistent passing from Schafer, and all-around hustle, court-coverage, and a high level of intensity throughout the entire match. There is much to be improved in our overall offensive execution, but in this case, the other aspects of the game carried us through."