IRVINE, Calif. - The men's volleyball team swept the first day of play in SoCal as they took down Central Christian College and Walla Walla.
The Red Hawks began the day by taking down Central Christian College in four sets, 22-25, 25-14, 25-18, and 25-15.
Holding onto the 21-20 lead, the Tigers edged the Red Hawks in the first set as they rallied for four straight points to take the lead, as they outscored the Red Hawks 5-1 to take the first set.
Simpson answered back in the second set as
Dehryn Brown opened the set with three straight kills. A key 11-3 run on kills by
Akira Davies,
Diego Chavez,
Tyce Nakamura, and Brown helped anchor the rally as Simpson took the second set convincingly, 25-14 to even the match score.
Simpson regained the 2-1 match lead as they took the third set 25-18. Facing a one-point deficit, the Red Hawks scored five unanswered points to take the 9-5 lead and never looked back.
The Red Hawks sealed the fourth set victory as they held the 9-8 lead before reeling off nine straight points to take the commanding 18-8 lead. Brown posted two kills, while Davies notched three aces and Chavez posted two blocks and a kill.
A kill by
Luke Konjoyan, an ace by
Ben Stuerman, and a kill by
Adonijah James Raffaelli closed out the 25-15 third set.
Brown and Davies had a big game as they combined for 35 kills and a .408 hitting percentage. Davies added a team-high eight total blocks and eight aces.
Nakamura anchored the setter spot with 31 assists while Clark Hudson led the defense with 10 digs.
Game 2:
The Red Hawks took their second match of the day in four sets against Walla Walla.
With the score tied at 14, the Red Hawks created separation on five straight points to take the 19-14 lead as they closed out the first set victory 25-19 on a kill by
Chase Silveira.
The Wolves held the 24-21 lead before Simpson scored three straight points on two kills by Brown and a duo block by
Ben Stuerman and
David Raffaelli. But the Wolves held off the Red Hawks' rally as they took the second set 26-24.
Simpson bounced back as they took the third set 25-19 to take the 2-1 match lead before closing out the fourth set 25-16 to take the match. Simpson outscored Walla Walla 9-1 to close out the game as Brown posted two aces while Stuerman and Chavez each posted a kill.
Chavez and Brown led the team with 13 kills each as Chavez had a stellar .500 hitting percentage for the game. Stuerman had a big game with nine kills and five blocks. Hudson posted another solid game as he notched 12 digs.
Simpson looks to stay hot as they take on Pacific Union College tomorrow at 2 pm.
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