TIGERVILLE, S.C. — The Catawba College men's volleyball team takes its even 2-2 record on the road Tuesday at North Greenville, then returns home for a Thursday tilt against Benedict.
Second Win in the Books
- On Friday night, Catawba took down Lees-McRae in straight sets (25-12, 25-18, 26-24) for the program's second-ever win – its first via sweep
- Catawba hammered the Bobcats with a .384 hitting percentage, six service aces, and 5.5 blocks
- Trevor Phillips starred for the offense, hitting .619 with 14 kills and a pair of aces
- Eli Zdonek recorded team highs of three aces and four blocks as he and Jacob Brown tallied six kills
- Cam Reeder notched seven kills and a team-best six digs while fellow sophomore Kristian Smith dominated at the setter post with 35 assists, four digs, and a kill
By the Numbers
- Phillips ranks 11th nationally at 4.07 kills per set and stands 18th at 4.71 points per stanza, also leading the Catawba Indians with seven aces
- Smith's 9.86 assists per set average is good for 16th in the country as his 19 digs and six blocks on the defensive side are also noteworthy
- Zdonek and Wyatt Eastin share the team's top spot in blocking at 10 stops apiece
- Brown has been a key piece of the puzzle on both ends, recording 26 kills on a team-best .463 hitting clip with nine blocks, six digs, and three aces
- Libero Max Adkisson has chalked up 30 digs (2.14 per frame) to pace the blue and white, while Zdonek narrowly trails at 26
New Kids on the Block
- Each of Catawba's first four opponents have been in operation for a decade or longer
- North Greenville has fielded a men's volleyball team since 2015, while fourth-year program Benedict will be the youngest Catawba has faced
- The Catawba Indians are not the only newcomers at the NCAA Division II level this season; Barry, Jessup, LeMoyne-Owen, and Rockhurst have started competition this year while three more programs formerly competed in the NAIA
Scouting the Trailblazers
- North Greenville is one match into its 2025 slate, falling 3-1 to IVA squad Lincoln Memorial on Jan. 9 before the Trailblazers took last week off
- After Catawba on Tuesday, NGU will host a third consecutive IVA program on Jan. 28 as Tusculum comes to Tigerville
- Two Trailblazers who were named to the All-Conference Carolinas teams last season are back in senior middle blocker Michael de la Cruz (second team) and sophomore setter Logan Taylor (third team)
- Taylor amassed 36 assists in the season opener and de la Cruz had seven kills with an ace and five digs
- Logan Keothavy headlined the NGU attack against the Railsplitters with 12 darts, followed by Nick Tangney's nine kills on a .320 hitting percentage
Scouting the Tigers
- Benedict will be the fourth program to begin its 2025 campaign against Catawba, joining Charleston (Jan. 7), King (Jan. 8), and Lees-McRae (Jan. 17)
- In 2024, the Tigers went 3-17 with a 2-8 record in SIAC contests including 3-1 defeats of Central State and Morehouse
- Carolina University transfers Austin Jeter and Jacob Brown faced Benedict last season, notching a 3-2 victory as Jeter hurled 14 kills
- De'Andrae Taylor is one of the Tigers' top returners, entering his senior campaign after collecting a team-high 62 blocks
- Following an impressive college debut, Camron Petillo mashed 159 kills on a team-best hitting percentage of .158 while adding 76 digs and 15 stops
Follow Along
Tuesday's contest will be broadcast on the Conference Carolinas Digital Network with live stats on nguathletics.com. Thursday's home match will be streamed on FloCollege accompanied by stats on CatawbaAthletics.com.
