St. Davids, Pa. (Mar. 9, 2022)- Alvernia University (9-6, 4-2) knocked off conference rival Eastern University (4-7, 1-3) 3-2 in a men's volleyball MAC matchup Wednesday night at Eastern.
 
The Golden Wolves kicked off the contest, with Nick Cummins tallying the first kill of the opening stanza. Alvernia used the momentum, taking a quick 5-2 lead in the first set. The Eagles rebounded quickly, going on a 3-0 run to bring the game even.
 
As the set progressed, Eastern utilized the momentum, jumping out in front of Alvernia and taking an 18-13 lead late in the opening stanza. The Golden Wolves showed resiliency early, with Tyler Anderson and Brian Rea guiding a 5-1 run to slice the deficit to just one. Alvernia kept pushing, taking a 26-25 point lead late in the opening set. The Eagles responded, drawing the score even before a two-point Alvernia swing, which was capped off by a kill from Anderson, gave the Golden Wolves the win, 28-26.
 
Eastern responded fast to open the second set, taking a 9-3 lead over Alvernia. Anderson and Cummins responded in kind, cutting the deficit in half in a quick 3-0 run. Despite the effort, the Eagles grew their lead throughout the second stanza, holding the lead 22-16. Alvernia fought hard, with Cummins providing a necessary spark, making it a four-point lead for the Eagles. Eastern claimed the second set, 25-21.
 
The Eagles carried the momentum into the third set, taking a 10-6 lead partway through. A kill from Shane McNicholas and a service ace from Ethyn Burczyk helped give life to the Alvernia offense, evening the score up, 12-12. Both teams battled back and forth throughout the set, with both teams even late, 20-20. Eastern's offense gained momentum late, ending the set on a 5-1 run and finishing the third set on top, 25-21.
 
The fourth set is where the Golden Wolves showed their resiliency, as Alvernia opened the stanza on a 7-1 run, which was capped off by Caleb Whitehead. Rea and Aidan Wunderly helped extended the Alvernia lead, giving the Golden Wolves a 12-5 lead midway through the set.
 
Whitehead and Cummins helped Alvernia dominate the fourth set, helping the squad take a 20-8 lead late in the stanza. Despite a late effort from the Eagles, Anderson capped off the fourth set with a kill, giving the Golden Wolves the win 25-17.
 
The fifth and final set of the contest started close, with Alvernia claiming a slight 5-4 lead. The Eagles' offense fought back, using a 4-1 run to take an 8-6 lead. Eastern remained on top late into the set, holding a 12-10 lead.
 
The Golden Wolves' offense pushed back, utilizing a 3-1 run to cut the deficit to just one. A quick kill from Eastern pushed the lead back to two before Whitehead helped lead a 3-0 run, ending the set 16-14 in favor of Alvernia and giving the Golden Wolves the match, 3-2.
 
Cummins had a career night, recording a career-high 22 kills to go along with four digs and two service aces. Anderson tallied 16 kills and five block assists, while Burczyk recorded a career-high 48 assists.