WILKES-BARRE, PA – The Nazareth men's volleyball team swept their Sunday games at Wilkes University in Pennsylvania against Eastern University and the hosting Wilkes University Colonels. They staged an impressive comeback in their first game, erasing a 2-0 deficit to win 3-2, before beating Wilkes in straight sets; 3-0.

MATCH ONE - Nazareth 3, Eastern 2

 

How It Happened

• The Golden Flyers found themselves in an early deficit, starting the first set down 9-4. Eastern widened their lead to 14-7 before Nazareth made a push late in the set, getting themselves within three points of their opponents. In the end they fell short, dropping set one 25-20

• Set number two was much closer from the jump, with neither team leading by more than two points at any time until Eastern went up 18-15. Nazareth closed the gap once again, tying the set up at 24 points apiece, but Eastern would go on to score the final two points to take the set 26-24

• Both teams led early in the third set, with Nazareth finding themselves down 11-7 on the verge of a straight-sets loss. The Golden Flyers found their stride and turned the tides of the set, leading by as many as 6 points before taking the set by a score of 25-21. Nazareth trailed two sets to one

• The Golden Flyers, with their backs against the wall, once again managed to overcome an early deficit to take the fourth set of the match by a score of 25-20. Taking this set sent the two teams into a fifth and final set to 15 points to decide the winner

• For the first time, Nazareth never trailed in the final set. They took it by a score of 15-12 to complete a hard fought and impressive comeback, earning the win over Eastern University in dramatic fashion

 

Game Notes

• Senior AJ Burda posted a season-high 51 assists and an ace

• Ryan Murphy recorded a season-high and team-leading 19 kills on 38 swings along with an ace and a block

• Tristan Henderson had 18 kills and a block

• Quintin Chiles killed 13 times and also added a block

• Sean Frawley had 10 kills on 25 attempts to go along with 2 aces

• Daniel Mangan put up 11 assists and 2 kills

 

MATCH TWO - Nazareth 3, Wilkes 0

 

How It Happened

• The opening set started even through 20 points a-side with both teams trading kills, before Nazareth scored 5 of the last 6 points to take the set 25-21

• The Golden Flyers jumped out to an early 5-0 lead and never looked back in set number two. They never allowed Wilkes to equalize the score and capitalized on their opportunities to find themselves leading the match 2 sets to none

• With a chance to win in straight sets, Nazareth dropped the first point of the set before gaining the lead and never letting it go. They went on multiple runs of four or more consecutive points, stretching the lead to as many as 11 points. They went on to win the set 25-17 to secure the victory

 

Game Notes

• Sean Frawley led his team with 13 kills on 22 swings and added 7 digs

• Ryan Murphy scored 7 kills on 12 attempts and served 6 aces to go along with 2 blocks

• AJ Burda garnered 41 assists to bring his day's total to 92. He added 3 kills on 6 attempts

• Tristan Henderson had 11 kills on 19 tries and did his part defensively with 15 receptions and a block

• Quintin Chiles dug the ball 7 times and recorded 7 kills

 

What's Next

The Golden Flyers will be hosting their very own Nazareth Invitational beginning on Friday, January 23rd at the Kidera Gymnasium. They will open the event with a match against Penn State Behrend at 5 pm, followed by a 7 pm match against Carlow University.