Men's Volleyball take second in tournament

Nov. 4 , 2004
By Katie Kerr
Staff Writer

The St. Ambrose University men’s volleyball team came prepared to defend their title in this year’s Augustana Volleyball Tournament to open the 2004 season. They came up short and weren’t able to pull off a repeat championship.

The two pool tournament consisted of eleven teams competing for the title over Halloween weekend.

The Fighting Bees started off the tourney Saturday morning against the University of Iowa. Ambrose came out fighting and won the first game 21-4 without any problems. Iowa improved the second game, but still couldn’t compete with the Fighting Bees. SAU took the second game 21-13 with help from starting sophomore Brad Defenbaugh who had 11 serves including two aces.

SAU went on to play Truman College for the second game of pool play. In order to keep scheduled time the first game started with each team having ten points. Truman offered more competition but Ambrose still came out on top winning 21-19. In the second game the Bees became more aggressive and defeated Truman 21-10. Co-captain Bill Gleeson led the team with eight kills while sophomore libero Jim Finn and junior defensive specialist Chris Miller helped keep the teams serve receive flawless for both games.

For game three SAU played Iowa State. The Cyclones took an early lead of 10-3 but the Fighting Bees came from behind to tie the score at 14. Ambrose went on to win the game 21-20. During the second game Ambrose kept a one point lead until Iowa State tied the game at 14. SAU finally won the game 21-15 thanks to freshman middle Joe Barra and sophomore middle Joe Hallquist who stopped Iowa State’s hitting in its tracks with six key blocks.

St. Ambrose charged into game four against Illinois State. Both teams played exceptionally well and kept the score within a one point almost the entire contest. Co-Captain and starting setter Kevin Lenart helped the team with 22 assists, while Finn kept the ball up with 12 passes and four digs. The game ended with another win for St. Ambrose at 21-16. The second game continued in favor of Ambrose who maintained a strong lead for most of the game. Illinois State was able to come close at the end but SAU showed no mercy sending ISU home at 21-18. Gleeson stepped up again and lead the team with 10 attacks.

SAU found themselves matched up with Bradley for game five. As bracket play started, the games winner would move on to the semi-finals. Bradley started off the game strong and kept tight play but in the end couldn’t keep up with the Bee’s serving.

Ambrose triumphed over Bradley 25-18 for game one and continued on to win the second game 25-14. Freshman outside hitter Keith Gloude played outstanding and totaled 13 serves and four aces for both games. Senior Lenart shined with his 12 serves and two aces, while freshman middle Joe Barra also came to play with 16 attacks and nine kills. The third freshman and outside hitter, Drew Brown also impressed all with his powerful nine attacks and four kills. Once again Gleeson played tough and finished with 13 attacks and eight kills.

The semi-finals bracket had the Bees set up to play club team Children of the Corn in order to determine the team who would play for the championship. The older club team kept the Bees attention while keeping a small lead most of the game, but the Bees fought back until the score for both teams was 14.

Ambrose fought through their hitting errors which totaled eight, and won the first game 25-22. The second game against the Corn had each team exchanging the lead. Brown pushed the team forward with ten attacks and four kills while Gleeson, whose play for the day seemed unstoppable, tallied 14 attacks and nine kills. Ambrose won the game 25-19.

The combined games left Finn with an outstanding 14 passes and 14 digs. The freshmen once again proved their validity as starters, as Barra had seven serves and Gloude performed well all-around with 12 passes, six serves, and six attacks with three kills.

SAU, the defending champions, came into the final game tired from day long play, but ready to face the experienced and talented team from Scott Community College.

St. Ambrose struggled through the game partly due to the teams hitting errors. However, with help from Gloude’s serving, the Bees were able to tie the score at 20. Even with four key digs from junior Ryan Martin, the SAU couldn’t pull it off and lost game one 25-22. Game two started out neck and neck but Ambrose was able to gain a small lead with help from Lenart who totaled 22 assists. Ambrose maintained a lead but SCC came back to win the heartbreaking final game 25-23.

Although the team wouldn’t walk away with the title for the second year, the team impressed themselves with how they played. Co-captain Lenart commented on the key players of the tournament.

“The three freshmen stepped it up a lot, and Bill (Gleeson) is definitely a great leader for our team,” Lenart said.

Lenart went on to say how impressed he is with the new coach Matt Jennings and where the team will go from here.

“Matt (Jennings) is really working us hard and changing everything up," Lenart said. "He’s really bringing a lot to the team this year. We have a lot to improve on, but we have the talent and potential to go far this year.”

With one tournament under their belts, the Fighting Bees will now wait until January when their official season gets kicked off.

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