URBANA, Ohio – Friday, January 3, 2020, will go down as the night in which many firsts were celebrated in Urbana University men's volleyball history despite falling to North Greenville University in four sets (25-18, 23-25, 25-17, 25-21).
Among the many firsts included the first-ever point won on offense when Tyler Chavez blasted the program's service ace to give the Blue Knights their first-ever lead at 2-1 early in the first set.
Sam Hargett tallied the program's first-ever kill to draw the Blue Knights (0-1) to within 4-3 in the first set while
Chaz Hafer dished up the assist on the play, which was another program first.
Kurt Klamforth and
Jack Brinkman later in the first set combined for the block assist to make it 9-8 in favor of the Blue Knights.
Liam Morrissey would go on to record the first-ever solo block in program history to cut a North Greenville lead down to 17-14 in the first set.
The ultimate first occurred following a massive attack from Chavez hit the floor on the Crusaders' side of the court giving the Blue Knights a 25-23 win in the second set.
North Greenville (1-0) was able to use an impressive service game and offensive attack to outmuscle the Blue Knights for the better part of the match. The Crusaders tallied eight service aces and 48 kills to hit at a .362 clip.
Hargett (11), Chavez (11), and Brinkman (10) each notched double-digit kill performances as Urbana amassed 38 kills against 19 attack errors on 96 attempts for a .198 hitting percentage.
Hafer would lead Urbana with 32 assists and seven digs while Morrissey led the way in blocks with three.
UP NEXT: Coach
Andrew Palmer's crew will be back in action on Tuesday, Jan. 7, on the road against Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association powerhouse Ohio State University in the Covelli Center with the first serve scheduled for 7 p.m.
After a four-match road swing, Urbana will return to the Warren G. Grimes Center to take on Wittenberg University at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 17.
