Sacred Heart
East Stroudsburg
Men's Volleyball Falls to East Stroudsburg, 3-1
3/27/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Volleyball
March 27, 2006
Fairfield, CT - Junior Keith Eckenrode led all players with 20 kills and a game high .567 hitting percentage as the East Stroudsburg Warriors won the final three games to claim a 3-1 victory over Sacred Heart in men's volleyball action Monday night at the Pitt Center.
All four games were contested in tight fashion, with the Warriors coming out victorious 25-30, 30-25, 31-29, 30-25 in the match. The Warriors were up 23-19 in the first game before the Pioneers stormed back, using an 11-2 run to seal a 30-25 victory. The second game was tied at six when East Stroudsburg went on a 9-3 spurt to open up a 15-9 cushion. The Warriors hung on from there, as the Pioneers came close but could never get the game tied again.
The third game was a back-and-forth affair with neither team able to seize the momentum for more than a few points. The Pioneers took a 6-2 lead early on but the Warriors rallied to go up 11-9. Sacred Heart tied the game three times, first at 17, then again at 21 and once more at 23, but could never grab the lead. The Warriors took a 29-26 lead but the Pioneers rallied again to tie it at 29. However, ESU won the last two points for a 31-29 victory.
The fourth game was much like the third, with neither team gaining a big advantage. The Warriors grabbed the lead early and Sacred Heart was forced to fight uphill the rest of the way. The Pioneers drew within 25-24, but ESU ran off five of the last six points to clinch the match.
The Pioneers were led by senior Alex Catani (Larkspur, CA), who had 15 kills and eight digs, and junior John Breen (North Andover, MA) who tallied 13 winners and seven digs. Freshman Barry Smith (Shelton, CT) had 11 kills, and libero Brent Monden (Kanehoe, HI) added seven digs.
Sophomore Jeff Quinn had 16 kills and posted a .458 hitting percentage for East Stroudsburg (11-7, 6-2 EIVA). Junior Tom German added 13 kills and freshman R.J. Roth tallied 16 digs in the victory for the Warriors.
Sacred Heart (1-15, 1-9 EIVA) is off for a week before playing their final home game of the year. The Pioneers will host Vassar on Tuesday, April 4th on Senior Night at the Pitt Center. Game time is 7:00 pm.
