Hoover Breaks Records as Eutectics Fall to Ottawa in Five-Set Thriller

ST. LOUIS, MO. – The Eutectic men's volleyball team hosted the Ottawa University Braves (Kan.) on Friday night for what would turn out to be a two-hour and 15-minute barnburner with the Braves coming out on top. The Eutectics came out strong, winning the first two sets of the Heart of America Athletic Conference (HEART) matchup, but lost steam in the final three sets, falling 24-26, 22-26, 25-14, 25-16, 15-11. Grant Hoover broke the program records for Single-game Kills and Attacks, finishing with 26 kills on 60 attacks.

MATCH HIGHLIGHTS:

OTTAWA DEF. UHSP 24-26, 22-26, 25-14, 25-16, 15-11

• The Eutectics took the Braves by surprise in Set 1, coming from behind to take a 12-10 lead and then fighting for each and every point thereafter. With a tie at 24-24, the Eutectics earned set-point off an Ottawa error, then won the set off a Grant Hoover kill set up by Nolan Rausch. The Euts racked up 16 kills on 30 attempts.
• The Purple and Gold maintained the momentum into Set 2, taking the lead at 6-5 and remaining ahead for most of the set and winning the last three points off kills from Hoover (2) and Cameron Werner set up by Rausch. The Eutectics notched 17 kills on 30 attacks to hit at .400 in the set.
• In the third set, however, the Braves stole the momentum, winning four-points in a row to go up 13-10. The Ottawa team seemed to gain confidence from that streak, going on to win 12 of the next 16 points, collecting 16 kills while holding the UHSP squad to eight.
• The Braves continued their dominance in the fourth set, taking a 12-5 lead and building on that as the Eutectics struggled with consistency.
• The UHSP team showed some life in the final shortened deciding set, coming from behind at 11-7 to challenge the Ottawa team with three points in a row off kills from Dickson Colado and Hoover and an OU error to come within one point at 11-10. Both teams relied on scrappy defensive plays to keep themselves in the match. But, ultimately, the Braves prevailed, winning four of the last five points to clinch the match.
• Grant Hoover's 26 kills and 60 attempts beats his previous UHSP records of 25 kills and 57 attacks. Cameron Werner recorded 11 kills on 16 attempts for an impressive .600 attacking percentage in the match. Dickson Colado also reached double digits in kills with 10.
• Setter Nolan Rausch collected 57 assists in the match. Libero Xavier Gamayo picked up 14 digs.

UP NEXT:

The Eutectics now hold a record of 12-16 overall and 6-12 in the HEART. They conclude the regular season on Saturday by hosting a tri-match starting with a Conference matchup with Graceland University (Iowa)(2-25, 1-15 HEART) at 11 a.m. and concluding with a non-Conference match with Central Christian College of Kansas (0-20) at 3 p.m.