Men's Volleyball Earns 4-Set Win Against Viterbo

(Sioux Center, IA) – In their second day competing in Iowa, the Broncos took a two set to one lead over Viterbo, then after trailing 18-12 in the fourth, Hastings went on a 13-2 run to close it out (25-19, 18-25, 27-25, 25-20). In their first match of the day, Hastings took the opening set from Dordt, but lost in four sets (22-25, 25-18, 25-23, 25-18).

Against Viterbo with the first set tied at 7, Hastings won five straight points, beginning with a kill by freshman Diego Cobena. The Broncos continued to hold a comfortable lead and never let it get below three the rest of the way. Leading 19-16, Hastings won the next three points, getting two kills from freshman Christian Lafferty. On set point, junior Austin McLeroy delivered a kill to win it 25-19.

Viterbo raced out to a 5-1 lead in the second set and while Hastings got within two at 6-4, the V-Hawks won five straight to take an 11-4 lead. The Broncos got within three at 14-11, but Viterbo went back up six five points later. Trailing 20-16, the teams traded points until the end of the set, giving the V-Hawks a 25-18 win.

McLeroy got a kill on the first point and Hastings took the next two points as well. Later in the set with Viterbo leading 10-9, Hastings went on a 5-2 run, capped by a freshman Taven Johnson kill. Viterbo came right back and went up 19-16. Trailing 22-20, McLeroy and freshman Seth Hill got kills to tie it. The V-Hawks went up 25-24, but Hill answered with a kill, then after a double-block by Lafferty and freshman Cooper Turner, an attacking error by Viterbo gave Hastings the set, 27-25.

Viterbo led 8-4 early in the fourth set and grew the lead to 15-7. With Hastings down 18-12, the Broncos closed the match strong by winning 13 of the last 15 points. Junior Aleksa Pljevaljcic and Hill started the run with their first three kills. At 19-15, Hastings won the next six points, mostly by V-Hawk attacking errors. Hastings led 21-20 and won the next four points, starting with a Lafferty kill and ending with a Viterbo attacking error to end it at 25-20.

McLeroy finished with 12 kills, while Lafferty and Hill had eight and seven kills, respectively. Pljevaljcic led Hastings in assists with 35, while freshman Lopaki Laban had 13 digs. Lafferty also added 10 digs and five blocks.

Earlier in the day in their match against Dordt, Hastings built a 5-2 early lead with a couple of kills from McLeroy from Pljevaljcic. After the Defenders tied it at seven, it was very even the rest of the set. Tied a 14, McLeroy picked up another kill and led to a 6-1 run. Dordt closed the gap to one at 23-22, but back-to-back attacking errors by the Defenders gave Hastings the set, 25-22.

In the second set, the Defenders won six of the first seven points and took a 10-4 lead on a Bronco error. Holding a 15-7 lead, they went up double digits at 19-9. A kill by senior Wyat Lambertson sparked a 4-0 Bronco run to cut the deficit to six at 19-13. Hastings would not be able to get closer the rest of the set, as Dordt took the second set, 25-18.

Dordt won the first four points of the third set and pulled ahead to a 10-5 lead. After the Defenders went up 14-6, Hastings closed the gap with a 8-3 run, getting four kills from McLeroy that were assisted by Pljevaljcic in the run. Trailing 22-20, Dordt went up 24-20, but Hastings fought back by winning the next three points with a kill from Johnson and a couple blocks from Lafferty. Dordt closed out the set on the next point with a kill, 25-23.

Tied a three in the fourth, Dordt won five of the next seven points to go up 8-5. A 5-1 Hastings run began with a Johnson kill, but Dordt responded with a 5-1 run of their own to take a 14-11 lead. Trailing 15-13, the Defenders pulled ahead to take a 20-14 lead. Hastings was only able to get within five the rest of the set, as Dordt managed to win the set at 25-18.

McLeroy ended with 15 kills and Johnson added eight kills. Pljevaljcic had 34 assists, eight digs, and three blocks. Lafferty led the team in digs with 10.

Up next, Hastings will play two matches in Kansas City, MO on Friday, Feb. 13, starting with Avila at 1pm and ending with St. Mary-Woods at 3pm.