ERIE, Pa. – The 10th-ranked Eastern Mennonite men's volleyball team earned 3-0 (25-14, 25-19 and 25-20) win over Penn State Behrend in non-conference action in the Junker Center on Friday night.
Christian Taylor dished out 34 assists and Tim Callahan knocked down a game-high 10 kills to go with seven digs to help the Royals (8-4) remain undefeated against the Lions (2-5) with their fourth straight victory.
Anthony Sprentz (Cranberry Township, PA/Seneca Valley) tallied 14 assists and seven digs, while Trenton Munk (Baden, PA/Ambridge) led with eight kills and four blocks.
The Royals hit a game-best .312 in the first set behind 13 kills on 32 attempts with just three errors. EMU took a 10-5 lead and Behrend took its first timeout to try and slow down the Royals. EMU remained out in front and a small 6-2 run gave the Royals a double-digit lead at 22-12. Two kills from Scott Brigham and an ace by William Ragland put EMU at set point. Dan Lutz got the final kill to make it 25-14.
In the second set, the Royals turned a two-point deficit in the beginning to a five-point lead at 12-7 after a block error and kill by Callahan. Tyler Fiely (Cambridge Springs, PA/Cambridge Springs) tallied two kills to try and help the Lions come back, but Brigham and RJ Ocampo responded with kills for a 25-19 set-two win for a 2-0 lead in the match.
Callahan recorded five kills in the third set and Brigham managed seven digs to keep EMU in the third set. Behrend went up 10-7 on a pair of errors, but a kill by Ocampo and two aces from Ragland tied the game at 10-all and the next point by Callahan gave the Royals the lead for good. The teams went point-for-point down the stretch until Christian Taylor served the final four points to break open a 25-20 decision.
Tyler Herrmann (Cranberry Township, PA/Seneca Valley) finished with seven kills and six digs. Calvin Nowicki (Eden, NY/Eden) tallied 10 assists, six digs, five kills and four blocks.
The Lions return to action on Wednesday at Thiel. Match begins at 7 p.m.