Another match, another win! Eutectics now 5-0!

(Photo courtesy of Makenzie Ness)

ST. LOUIS - The UHSP Eutectics continued what has been a record setting start to the 2024 season with their fifth consecutive win to begin the campaign. Never before in the previous four-year history of the program had they ever won more than three matches in a row. Saturday afternoon on the UHSP campus, the Eutectics knocked off the Ottawa Braves in the first-ever meeting between the two, 25-22, 25-22, 25-21. The two will meet again in ten days in Ottawa, Kansas.

Set one was UHSP start to finish as the Eutectics never trailed. They jumped out to an 8-2 lead as Dickson Colado registered three early kills. Following two hitting errors by the Eutectics, UHSP took command of the set scoring eight of the next 12 points to lead 16-8. Colado delivered an ace and Marcus Parker and Grant Hoover recorded kills as the other five points came thanks to Ottawa errors. The Braves would threaten to make the set interesting as a kill from Max Baumann followed by a UHSP error make it a 23-20 opening set. But an Ottawa attack error gave the Purple and Gold set point and Colado sealed the deal with a kill.

The second set was all Braves early as they constructed an 8-4 then 11-5 lead. But the Eutectics battled to close the gap with kills from Parker, Connor Behymer and a pair from Colado to make it 13-11. The complexion of the set would take a dramatic turn after Ottawa garnered an 18-15 lead. The Euts scored seven straight to send the Braves reeling as Parker recorded six straight service points with Parker and Behymer recording the lone kills. Max Baumann and Cameron Werner went back-to-back with kills and UHSP lead 23-21 and three points later Werner delivered the set clinched for a 25-22 win.

The offense clicked a little better in the third for the home club. The Euts recorded hitting percentages of .212 and .171 in the first two sets respectively, but swung at .368 in the third. Each team would go on their own 5-0 run early as Baumann and Xavier Gamayo matched each other with separate four-point service runs. Colado had three early kills again in the set as the Eutectics led 7-6. The set was tied four more times the rest of the way, but Ottawa could never take the lead. Parker had three kills down the stretch and leading 24-21 it was Cole Cwiklowski that delivered a ball to Cooper Hanson that Hanson put away to keep the Eutectics unbeaten on the season five matches in.

For the match, UHSP had a hitting percentage of .255 to Ottawa's .144. Marcus Parker led the front-row attack for the Purple and Gold with a dozen kills while Dickson Colado and Connor Behymer each had nine. Cole Cwiklowski dished out 40 assists over the course of the match, the fifth-most assists in a single match in UHSP history. Cwiklowski now owns the top six spots in the all-time list of most assists in a single contest. Xavier Gamayo had 12 digs for UHSP and Akeil Williams had a 12 kill day for Ottawa.

The Eutectics (5-0) will go for their sixth straight win on Friday when they play host to the Graceland Yellowjackets (2-2) in the opening match of the Heart of America Athletic Conference regular season slate. It will be the sixth all-time meeting between the two with the Jackets not only winning each of the five previous meetings, but USHP has only won a single set against Graceland.