Eagles Continue to Build Solid Foundation in North Carolina

By Mike DeVader, Reinhardt Director of Athletic Communications & Media

LAURINBURG, N.C. – The Eagles made more history on the hardwood on Saturday in the final day of Mid-South Conference (MSC) pod play in North Carolina with a first-ever sweep of an opponent, 3-0 (25-19, 25-19, 25-17) over Thomas More (Ky.) before dropping a game to the No. 1 team in men's volleyball – Campbellsville (Ky.) – 14-25,13-25,16-25.

"Definitely a tale of two matches today, but I'm extremely happy to finish the weekend 2-1," head coach CJ Shearer said. "In the Thomas More match, the guys were locked in from beginning. Our serving was some of the best it's been all year, and Chase Cross absolutely dominated, picking up 11 kills while hitting over .400 as a big-time, go-to hitter. Our block was also much-improved in the match.

"Campbellsville was once again a tough draw. They absolutely look like one of the top teams in the country, and I'm excited any chance we get to see competition like that. While there were moments, I am a little disappointed in how we fought through the course of the match as a team. I believe we are so close to taking another step forward and part of that is learning how to get truly hit; and respond. At the end of the day though, we made some noise this weekend with two big conference wins and some solid volleyball. To God goes all the Glory."

Reinhardt (4-9, 2-2 MSC) put together what could be its best performance in program history against Thomas More when it mattered the most – conference play – as the Eagles finished with a hitting percentage of .286 and were well over .300 in both the first and third games in the win over the Saints.

A massive amount of errors from Thomas More (24) combined with a dominant offensive attack from the hometown club proved-to-be the perfect recipe for the first sweep of 2020 for Reinhardt.

Chase Cross continued to be a dominant force with 11 kills (.429), 6 digs, 4 total blocks and an ace. Ricardo Mujica also put his teammates in the right place to score with 16 assists, while hitting .400 in his limited chances as well.

Matthew Corrales added nine kills and a half-dozen digs, and John Hynes led the way in hitting percentage with a .556 after five kills in nine chances.

In match two later in the afternoon, the Tigers showed why very few teams in the NAIA can stay with them at this point in the season after they pulverized the volleyball with a .532 hitting percentage. Conversely, Reinhardt gathered only 20 kills after Campbellsville pushed its opposition to post just a .047 success rate.

Mujica was a bright spot for the Eagles with 18 assists and four digs. Corrales had a team-best eight kills on offense.

Hynes earned three points in five attempts, while Gerald Moore scored twice in three chances. 

The Tigers had just five errors compared to the Eagles' 17.

The team now looks ahead to a road trip at NCAA Division II Emmanuel (Ga.) on Feb. 20 at 7 p.m.

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