ATHERTON, Calif. - The men's volleyball team split today in the Menlo Invitational. in Atherton, CA with Hope International and Menlo College.
They defeated Hope International 3-2 in five sets but lost to Menlo in straight sets.
The boys took on GSAC opponent Hope International in the first game of the day.
The first points of the game belonged to an
Akira Davies kill that grabbed Simpson the early lead.
The Royals reclaimed the lead but Simpson tied the game at 15 after an attacking error.
A 3-0 Royals run put Hope up 18-15 before the Red Hawks returned the favor with a 3-0 run to tie the game at 18.
Back-to-back kills by
Nathan Richards and
Flavio Mercado late in the first set allowed Simpson to grab the 20-19 lead.
But a 6-2 Royals run helped propel Hope in the first set as they grabbed the 1-0 lead on a 25-22 set one victory.
The Red Hawks answered back in the second set as they grabbed a 4-1 lead on a kill by Davies and some Royals miscues.
Simpson and Hope exchanged rallies back and forth before Simpson grabbed the 22-20 lead late in the second set with kills by Davies and Richards.
A Royals attacking error helped seal the win for Simpson in set two, 25-22 as they tied the match 1-1.
Simpson and Hope played a wild set three that saw Hope come out on top 31-29.
The Red Hawks and Royals exchanged points in set three as no more than two points ever separated these two teams.
With its backs against the wall, Simpson answered back with a 25-21 set four victory.
Simpson saw themselves down by as much as six points 14-8 but pulled within one point late in the fourth set as they trailed 19-20.
But a 7-1 Red Hawks run included kills by Mercado and Davies to help fuel a 25-21 fourth-set victory to tie the match score 2-2.
The fifth set fell in favor of Simpson early as they grabbed an 8-3 lead. But the Royals fought back and pulled within one point of the SU 13-12 lead.
Nathan Richards slammed down the final kill to give Simpson the fifth-set victory and the 3-2 match win.
Flavio Mercado had a team-high 18 kills,
Nathan Richards followed close behind with 16, and
Akira Davies rounded out the double-digit kill leaders with 12.
David Raffaelli had a solid game with 32 assists, three total blocks, and six digs.
Game 2:
The Red Hawks fell in its second game of the day to Menlo College in straight sets.
Unfortunately, Simpson ran into a Menlo buzzsaw as the #7 team in the nation fired on all cylinders.
The Oaks dominated the first set on its way to a 25-10 victory.
However, the Red Hawks battled in set two but fell short in a 25-19 contest.
A 12-12 ball game midway through the second set saw the Oaks and Red Hawks tied until a 9-3 Oaks run created separation and enough breathing room for the Oaks to take set two.
The Oaks started set three fast as they grabbed a 3-0 lead until a 4-0 Red Hawks run helped pull Simpson out in front.
Kills by
Jean-Paul James and
Akira Davies helped Simpson grab the early lead.
However, it was all Oaks for the rest of the set as they won convincingly 25-14.
With the split, Simpson ends its preseason play and starts conference play this Thursday against Benedictine University at home at 3 PM.
