Men's Volleyball Notches Historic Mid-South Conference Victory

By Mike DeVader, Reinhardt Director of Athletic Communications & Media

LAURINBURG, N.C. – Reinhardt men's volleyball took another historic step on Friday night in North Carolina, as the Eagles scored three-consecutive wins against Cumberland (Tenn.), 3-1 (16-25,25-21,25-23,25-18) to post its first Mid-South Conference (MSC) victory as a program.

The hometown team is now 2-0 all-time against the Phoenix and have done so both times in four sets – the first positive 3-1 outcome came on Feb. 1.

"Tonight is another first for Reinhardt men's volleyball as we secured our first-ever conference victory," head coach CJ Shearer said. "Cumberland is a team I have a ton of respect for; they are a well-coached team with talent, and they fight hard. We started out playing, honestly, unacceptable volleyball in set one. We talked for the last week about being relentless; keeping to our culture of playing free and aggressive, whistle to whistle, and staying together… We failed in set one. The team showed me how in they were the rest of the way, playing with that mindset from set two the rest of the way. The guys made every adjustment I asked, served better than they have all year and stayed relentless on defense.

"Matt Corrales once again was great as he responded to an awful first set to finish with 19 kills, 11 digs, 4 total blocks and 3 aces. Chase Cross coming in with a huge 15 kills of his own and having one of his best hitting percentages of the season. Also, Reynaldo Medina continues to shine with 14 digs and extremely solid serve-receive. I am tremendously proud of the fight and grit the guys showed tonight and am so happy for them to get their first conference win. To God goes all the Glory."

Matthew Corrales (19 kills and 11 digs) and Chase Cross (15 scores) led the offensive attack as both of them hit .189 and .216, respectively. The positives on that side of the net didn't begin until after the opening game, however, as Reinhardt hit negative in set one and earned only four kills – compared to seven errors.

Stanzas two through four were the opposite side of the coin for the Eagles and it was apparent on both the scoreboard and the stat sheet. The visitors got kill totals of 14, 15 and 14 as miscue numbers went down.

In game three, Reinhardt hit a match-best .278 with only five errors.

The Eagles were able to go on runs at the most-opportune times to keep Cumberland from taking the lead in games two and three. On multiple occasions, the Phoenix would threaten to take over the set, but Reinhardt would have the answer. 

Corrales put his club up, 2-1, after he individually ended both sets two and three for the overall lead.

Game four would be tied at 4-4 until the Eagles strung together eight points in-a-row for a 12-4 score. From there, Cumberland would have one last gasp and get within six tallies a couple of times, but it was too little, too late.

Reynaldo Medina was out-front in digs with 14 of his team's 53. Ricardo Mujica was all over the floor on offense with 36 assists in the win.

As a team, the Eagles hit eight aces overall.

MSC pod play continues tomorrow for Reinhardt (3-8) with a doubleheader beginning at 11 a.m. with Thomas More (Ky.), before No. 1 Campbellsville (Ky.) awaits at 3 p.m.

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