At Brooks Gym, M.U. (25-13, 25-16, 25-10)
John's Commentary: "This was a good match to get some of the young bucks in against. Has anyone seen Yeager at all? I think the team was looking ahead to Thursday's match at Susquehanna, where the fans are rowdy and drunk all of the time. It should be fun. The match should be too."
Coach's Commentary: "This was a good match for us - far better than the Philly U match. Those two matches were "bookends" around Ville's Spring Break, but they were
night and day different. Against Philly U, we appeared sluggish, lazy, and
uninterested - simply ready for Spring Break to commence, and our hitting
stats reflected that, .175 (97-43-26). Against Dickinson, we were having
fun. We played with enthusiasm, confidence, and intelligence. I was
pleasantly surprised with the manner in which we attacked the match.
As we have done over the past three weeks, we threw different line-ups
together each game, and got everyone some action in competition, this time
on our home court. We hit .347 (72-36-11) for the match, with everyone in
uniform (except the d-specs) getting at least one kill. Craig and Mace
played some great Libero, and Brian Myers straightened out his serving
problems from the night before, collecting a run of five straight points,
including his first ace. Mace corrected his previous night's hitting
problems and hit 3 for 3 in the first game, before taking over the Libero
duties from Craig. Even more encouraging, though, was that Mace put away
one each of a middle hammer, a high deep corner shot over the block, and a
deep down-the-line roll, on consecutive swings.
Keith had one of the best all-around matches of anyone on the team this
season, as he set, served, hit and blocked Dickinson off the court. At one
point in the third game, he served 5 aces, at four different players during
a stretch of seven points. He collected 3 blocks on the night, hit .364
(11-5-1), and dished out 21 assists while setting the first two games. He
also generated 10 points on 16 serves, with 5 aces, and no errors.
Matt Shetzline was unstoppable in the two games he played, as he hit .800
(10-8-0) and collected two assist blocks. Adam Hoke swatted everything
that came his way to the floor in the third game, also hitting .800
(5-4-0). Tracey (our venerable, and balding, Libero) hit outside for us at
a .231 clip (13-4-1), collected two blocks, and served 11 points on 15
attempts - not bad for an "old" man. Matt Davis used some great placement
on his floater-serve for 6 points and an ace on 9 attempts, while also
cleaning the floor in the back row.
Clee and Keith struggled to get connected in the middle, but Clee still put
down a couple of kills, and stuffed Dickinson twice for points. And John,
sickly though he was (and refusing to tell me), continued to improve his
hitting efficiency, as he hit over .300 again (.308, 13-7-3).
It was very encouraging to see the team so at ease and confident, even
though I had our normal rotations in such disarray. We have learned to
work together, not just as a team of seven (including the Libero), but as a
team that consists of everyone on the roster."