Pittsburgh, Pa. -- Mount Aloysius men's volleyball earned a five set victory against the Chatham Cougars this Thursday, February 9th. 

Leaders:

- Juniors Andrew Wlodarczyk (East Aurora, N.Y., East Aurora) and Matthew Franz (Johnstown, Ohio, Bishop Hartley) led the Mounties in kills with 17 each. 
- Freshman Evan Schmidt (Loganville, Pa. , Dallastown Area) led the Mounties in assists, picking up 44. 
- Wlodarczyk also led the Mounties in digs with 17. 

How It Happened: 

- The first set was as close as it could be as both teams trading errors and kills, staying within two points of each other throughout. 
- Even to the last few points, a pair of Chatham blocks would give the hosts the set, 25-23. 
- Maintaining momentum from the first set, Chatham would jump out to a 4 point lead as the Mounties struggled to attack consistently. 
- Sophomore Jason Freed (East Aurora, N.Y., East Aurora) would take over serve for the Mounties down 6-10, leading his team to a 5 point run to take their first lead of the set. 
- Struggles with both serve and return would erase the Mountie advantage, as the Cougars collected 9 of the next 10 points to take a commanding 20-13 lead. 
- Despite a late set push, a Chatham kill would put the hosts up 2-0, taking the second 25-19. 
- The Cougars came into the third ready to rest on their laurels while the Mounties looked to fight back. 
- Junior Tayshaun Johnson (Uniondale, N.Y., Uniondale) would take serve early for the Mounties, as his team would win seven straight to grab the early 8-2 lead. 
- Back and forth through the set, Chatham cut the Mountie lead to 3 with a late run of kills and Mountie errors. 
- Now running on all cylinders, the Mounties would end the set with authority, recording kills on 5 of the last 8 points to take the 3rd 25-16.
- Reeling from the change in fate, the Cougars immediately fell into a 10-4 hole in the fourth, with the Mounties poised to run away with the set. 
- Chatham struggled to hit consistently, bleeding errors as the Mounties put together consistent points. 
- Leading comfortably throughout, the Mounties would take the set 25-13. 
- Still struggling with errors, the Cougars mirrored their fourth set effort, falling into a 10-4 hole. 
- A final kill from Wlodarczyk would take the set and the match for the Mounties, 15-11. 

Into the Box Score:

- The Mounties would record 51 kills while their opponents would record 53. 
- Mount Aloysius would defend successfully, recording 77 digs to Chatham's 61. 
- Chatham's hitting percentage fell rapidly in each successive set, hitting a -.022 nadir in the fourth. In contrast, the Mounties hitting percentage rose as the match progressed, getting as high as .450 in the fifth. 

Up Next: 

- Mount Aloysius takes on Penn State Altoona and Saint Vincent in a tri-match this Sunday, February 11th.