Men's Volleyball Goes 2-0 in Weekend Trip

MIDWAY, KY/RICHMOND, IN – The Brescia University men's volleyball team went undefeated on the road this past weekend as they won three straight sets against Midway and IU East. The Bearcats extended their record to 8-6 overall and 5-3 in RSC play.

Match 1: Bearcats 3 Midway 0

The Bearcats got the scoring started with a 13-5 run in the first set. Back-to-back kills by Meric Akovali and Finn Berger took set one for the Bearcats with a final score of 25-15. With the one-set advantage, the Eagles of Midway went head-to-head with BU in set two as they knotted the score at six from a Brescia attack error. The Bearcats were able to string together a seven-point run against the Eagles as two aces landed for Miguel Veloso. Back-to-back kills from Miguel Pereira capped off a 25-16 set two win. The Bearcats needed a set three win to put the match away and that's exactly what they did. Despite the Eagles tying the score at eight, BU maintained a reasonable lead to take set three, 25-27.

Mustafa Yildiz led with nine kills on 11 chances as Meric Akovali followed with seven kills, 31 assists, and three blocks.

Match 2: Bearcats 3 IU East 0

The Bearcats continued their momentum into the next day as they traveled to Richmond, IN to take on the Red Wolves of IU East. BU went up early in set one taking a 9-5 advantage. The Red Wolves worked their way back within three of the BU lead on back-to-back kills. Brescia took advantage of the IUE miscues as they grabbed a set one win, 25-17. Set two came down to the wire as each team traded points on the board. A BU attack error gave IUE their first lead of the day. The Bearcats quickly saw a 16-13 deficit but worked their way back, taking the lead, 18-16. Tied again at 23, a kill by Can Acis and an attack error by the Red Wolves etched the set two winner for the Bearcats. BU finished the match with a set three win of 25-21 to stay undefeated on the weekend.

Joaquin Palacios led with nine kills on 19 total chances while Owen Collitt followed with eight kills on 13 attempts. Akovali added another 25 assists and five kills in the match.

The Bearcats will remain on the road for the rest of their contests this month as they travel to Rio Grande, OH this coming Saturday, Mar. 22 to take on the RedStorm at 3pm CT.