Men's Volleyball Successful Against D'Youville

NORTH ANDOVER, MA- The Merrimack men's volleyball team was successful against the D'Youville University Saints on the evening of March 7th, winning 3-1 in four sets.
 

Rapid Recap

Score: Merrimack 3, D'Youville 1

Records: Merrimack 6-4, D'Youville 3-6

How it Happened

Set 1 was a hard-fought back and forth tilt. Logan Whitaker would keep the Warriors in the game with a string of kills, tallying 6 of his own in the first set. Ephraim Abhulime and the dynamic brother duo of Kai Vogel and Isaiah Vogel would team up to get the Warriors some crucial points throughout the frame. Kasen Owens would have a clutch spike at the end of the set. Logan Whitaker would have the spike that gave the blue and gold the set victory by a score of 25-21.

Set 2 saw the Warriors get off to a strong start. Logan Whitaker had an emphatic spike and Ephraim Abhulime had a block in front of the net. Isaiah Vogel would power the ball over the net halfway through the set to give the Warriors the clear advantage. Logan Whitaker would catch fire and get three consecutive kills to reach point 15 and the mid-way timeout. Nathan Knapp would get involved soon after and get a point of his own. Kasen Owens would provide a string of points towards the end of the set to propel the Warriors to another set victory. Nathan Knapp would have a block at the end of the set that put the cherry on top of a successful frame for the Warriors.

Set 3 would be another tight battle between the two teams. Ephraim Abhulime, Isaiah Vogel, and Kasen Owens would keep the Warriors in the game with some much-needed points. The blue and gold would be momentarily down, but would crawl back to be even with the Saints. Blake Taschner would provide a spark and send a spike over the net to tie the set at 14. The rest of the set would see both teams trading points until the Saints came alive and took set 3 by a score of 25-23.

Set 4 started off with an early advantage from the Warriors, where they went up as much as 4-1. Logan Whitaker and Isaiah Vogel would provide offense throughout the set with some kills of their own. The blue and gold would get hot halfway through the set and have a 18-13 lead. Logan Whitaker and Isaiah Vogel would have some huge points at the end of the set to push the Warriors to a match victory. 

Notes and Numbers

• Logan Whitaker had 16 kills

• Ephraim Abhulime had 15 kills

• Kasen Owens had 7 kills and 8 digs

• Isaiah Vogel had 9 kills and 4 digs

• Blake Taschner had an astounding 41 assists and 4 service aces

Up Next

The Warriors return home tomorrow, March 8th when they play the Daemen University Wildcats at Hammel Court at 5PM. The contest has been dubbed the KP Match of the Week. It will be streamed on the Merrimack Sports Network. Link to watch is on the Merrimack men's volleyball schedule. 

For continuing coverage of Merrimack Athletics and Merrimack men's volleyball, visit merrimackathletics.com . Follow Merrimack men's volleyball on Instagram @merrimackmvb .