The Saints Steal a Late Victory on Opening Night of Thomas More Invitational

By Mike DeVader, Reinhardt Director of Athletic Communications & Media

CRESTVIEW HILLS, Ky. – Thomas More pushed back with its back against the wall and netted five-consecutive points to steal a victory away from Reinhardt in the opening outing for the Eagles in the Thomas More Invitational, 3-2 (25-22,23-25,25-27,25-22,14-16) late Friday night in Kentucky.

Reinhardt needed just one more tally in the fifth set to put a bow on its second victory as a program, but another Eagle triumph wasn't meant to be, however, as Thomas More earned three-straight kills to tie the deciding-set at 14-14. From there, the offense for the Saints wouldn't need to score the rest of the way to get the win, as their visitors made back-to-back miscues – one on an attack and one on a set attempt – to make the matchup final in the record book.

"First, hats off to Thomas More for an unbelievable match; they fought hard at all times and never made anything easy," head coach CJ Shearer said. "The loss stings, but the guys put so much out there on the floor… Each and every point they gave max effort, and I can't ask for more as a coach. I need to use this moment to help the team grow, figure out our areas of improvement and keep the guys on the right track. To God goes the Glory."

The Eagles took set one in the Connor Convocation Center after the club combined to hit .417 with 12 kills; all with just two errors. The second stanza went right down the wire as both teams hit the ball well over .300 in the game, but Reinhardt came up just short after falling behind, 20-14. The team got back within one tally on a couple occasions late, but the Saints posted a kill to tie the match.

Now all locked up at 1-1, the Eagles seemed to find their footing again after opening up a 15-10 advantage midway through set three. Thomas More would close the gap and get back within two points at 22-20 before Reinhardt moved right up to the door of victory, 24-20. Four-straight Eagle errors later, however, put the momentum back into the hands of the Saints – who would score three of the next four points.

The Eagles would then respond with a nice run in the middle of set four (9-2 scoring spree) to move ahead, 16-10, as they were able to hold off their hosts just enough to tie the overall score once again.

The positive play would continue into the fifth game, as Reinhardt again put together a healthy amount of scoring to get in position to claim victory following a 7-2 spurt after falling behind, 9-7. The tide would flip to the other side of the net, however, as the Eagles wouldn't gain any tallies the rest of the way.

Reinhardt hit .201 in defeat, but was led offensively by Matthew Corrales (16 kills) and Chase Cross (13). Ricardo Mujica netted 26 assists, 11 digs and 5 kills.

Reynaldo Medina paced the defense with 16 digs of his own. 

Collectively, the Eagles totaled 16 total blocks against Thomas More.

The event concludes tomorrow with three matches on the docket beginning at 9 a.m. against Cumberland (Tenn.).

For up-to-the-minute Eagles sports news, follow Reinhardt Athletics on Facebook, @RU_Eagles on Twitter and @ru_eagles on Instagram. 

For more information on Reinhardt Men's Volleyball, please click here.