V-Hawks Suffer a Pair of Setbacks

WHITING, Ind. – The Viterbo University Men's Volleyball team dropped a pair of matches at a Tri-Match hosted by Calumet College (Ind.) on Saturday. The V-Hawks fell to the Crimson Wave, 3-0 (23-25, 16-25, 18-25) and Siena Height University (Mich.) 3-0 (12-25, 16-25, 20-25). The V-Hawks now sit at 10-14 (2-5 CCAC) on the year.

Against Calumet, the V-Hawks started the match with an Alex Kratzenstein kill, followed by two from Guven Gedikoglu. Gedikoglu then sparked a run that saw an Avery Hackler service ace for the 11-9 lead. The Wave responded with their own run to take back the lead, 16-13, then the teams traded points, with the V-Hawks offense led by Kratzenstein kills. However, CC would hold on for the 25-23 win.

Calumet took an early lead in the second set as well, despite kills from SJ Nelson and Logan Amdur. They would hold onto the lead, as kills from Ethan Davis and a Gedikoglu-Kratzenstein block were not enough to chip away at the lead and after a Dane Kerkman kill, VU lost 16-25.

A pair of Davis kills and Kerkman blocks had the V-Hawks ahead to start the third, but the Wave responded with an 8-0 run to take the lead. They held onto that lead, despite Caleb Koza's late kill and Kerkman-assisted block.

Kerkman, Gedikoglu, and Kratzenstein each had six kills apiece, and Amdur dished 20 assists to go with eight digs. Pedro Castillo recorded 25 assists for Calumet.

In the second match of the day, Siena Height took a 6-1 lead out of the gate, and after a Davis kill closed the deficit to 7-10, the Saints put together another huge run. Trailing 23-10, Justin and Alex Kratzenstein each had late kills, but would not be enough.

The teams traded points early in the second, Viterbo's points coming from both Kratzensteins and Max Dugan. SHU built another large lead, 19-9, before Dugan started a run with a kill and an ace. Garran Wilming then posted consecutive aces, but the rally came too late, Viterbo falling 25-16.

Errors from the Saints, as well as a pair of Amdur blocks, helped the V-Hawks take an 8-4 lead early in the third. Dugan and Hackler helped keep Viterbo in the lead before a 6-1 Saint run put them ahead, 16-13. After a pair of A. Kratzenstein kills, the Saints ran another five points straight to set up the 25-20 win.

Alex Kratzenstein had five kills on .308 hitting, Juan Banda recorded 13 digs, and Amdur had 13 assists. Zak Tucker posted 28 assists for the Saints.

The V-Hawks return to action on Thursday, March 28 as they host UW-Stevens Point.