The Benedictine Mesa Men's Volleyball Team faced a tough challenge at home against No. 1 The Master's, falling in straight sets with scores of 20-25, 17-25, and 19-25.
Set 1: Benedictine Mesa fought hard in the opening set but ultimately fell short, 25-20. The Redhawks initially trailed after an early attack error but responded quickly with kills from
Trevor Weinert and
Landon Fuller to take a brief 2-1 lead. The teams battled evenly, with Braden Van Groningen leading The Master's offense and Benedictine countering with strong net play from
Josh Beymer and
Dapre Rogers.
Midway through the set, The Master's built a small lead, but a crucial block by Rogers and Beymer tied the score at 14-14. However, following a timeout, The Master's regained momentum, capitalizing on Benedictine's errors and sealing the set with a kill from Isaac Seltzer.
Set 2: The Redhawks struggled to gain footing early in the second set, falling behind 3-0 due to attack errors and a service ace. A kill from Rogers off a set from
Ben Turcinec put Benedictine on the board, but The Master's continued to extend their lead, reaching 10-4 before Benedictine called a timeout.
Despite efforts from Weinert and Rogers, The Master's maintained control, exploiting Benedictine's mistakes. Van Groningen's dominant play extended the lead to 16-8, and though the Redhawks fought back with late kills from Rogers and Fuller, The Master's closed the set at 25-17 with another kill from Van Groningen.
Set 3: The third set was tightly contested, with both teams trading points early on. Rogers and Fuller answered kills from McCullough and Van Groningen, helping Benedictine take a brief 5-3 lead. However, The Master's capitalized on service errors and attack mistakes to reclaim momentum, leading 10-8.
A timeout at 12-9 aimed to shift momentum, but The Master's continued to dominate offensively. Despite strong efforts from Rogers and Fuller, attack errors and well-placed assists from Bryce Jones kept The Master's in control. A late surge by Benedictine, highlighted by kills from Rogers and Jakaitis, wasn't enough as The Master's secured the final set, 25-19.
Key Players:
Looking Ahead:
The Redhawks return to action on Wednesday, March 12, as they travel to Gilbert to take on Park Gilbert.
