ROCHESTER, NY – The No. 9 Nazareth men's volleyball team posted a 3-0 victory over Penn State Behrend in United Volleyball Conference (UVC) action on Tuesday night.
The Golden Flyers (23-8, 5-3 UVC) had double-digit kills in each set to record a 25-19, 26-24 and 25-15 conference win to hinder the Lions' (7-16, 1-5 UVC) chances for a spot in the playoffs. Tim Zyburt led with 11 kills, four digs, two aces and a block for Nazareth.
Trenton Munk (Baden, PA/Ambridge) hit. 750 with nine kills on 12 attempts with no errors. Eric Theiss (Plum, PA/Plum) tied Munk with nine kills.
Behrend had a one-point lead in the first set at 14-13, but the Golden Flyers tied it at 16-all and then used a 4-0 spurt to stay ahead for good. Nazareth only let the Lions record three more points, while Zyburt added two kills and then served an ace for the win, 25-19.
With a 5-0 start in the second set, Behrend had the momentum in its favor to try and even the match. The Lions remained out front, holding a 15-11 lead. The Golden Flyers went on an 8-2 run to take their first lead at 20-17. Three straight errors tied the game at 20-all to begin the back-and-forth battle until the end. Munk gave the Lions set point with a kill at 24-23. Nazareth came back with two straight kills and won on a Behrend attack error, 26-24.
The Golden Flyers gave the Lions a dose of their own medicine with a 5-0 lead to open the third set. Nazareth never surrendered the lead, jumping out to a nine-point advantage at 19-10 and eventually earning its largest margin to capture the match at 25-15.
Anthony Sprentz (Cranberry Township, PA/Seneca Valley) handed out 24 assists and Tyler Herrmann (Cranberry Township, PA/Seneca Valley) added six kills and a team-best six digs.
Behrend returns to action on Saturday at Stevens for a tri-match with MIT. Matches begin at 11 a.m.