Eutectics Win Nailbiter with Clarke

The Eutectic men's volleyball earned a five-set win on Friday night over the Clarke University Pride (5-11, 2-6 HEART) who came to St. Louis from Dubuque, Iowa, for a Heart of American Athletic Conference (HEART) matchup. After UHSP took the first two sets at 27-25 and 25-23, Clarke turned the tables to take the next two sets at 25-22 and 25-23. But, in the battle of the deciding set, it was the Eutectics who came out on top at 16-14.

The Eutectics pulled ahead 7-3 and stayed ahead as the first set looked to be heading in favor of the home team. After kills from Marcus Parker and Dickson Colado and a Pride error, the Euts held a 17-11 lead. But, Clarke returned from a timeout with renewed focus, matching the Euts point-for-point, then earning four points in a row to come within three points at 21-19. Another three-point streak for the visitors off two UHSP errors and a kill actually put the Pride up set point at 25-24. But, with a strong home crowd behind them, the Eutectics finished off the final three points with kills by Parker, Connor Behymer, and Cameron Werner to win the set at 27-25.

In the second set, it was the Pride who pulled ahead early, taking a 6-3 lead after a kill and a UHSP error. A series of attacking errors by Clarke allowed the Eutectics to gain some ground, and a kill by Werner from Cole Cwiklowski allowed the Euts their first lead of the set at 11-10. The teams traded the lead back and forth for a while until the Purple and Gold, down 21-20, put together two kills (Colado and Grant Hoover) and an ace from Behymer to go up 23-21. It was enough to pull the Euts through to set victory at 25-23.

The Pride took the lead right away in the third set and left the Euts to play catchup. The score was tied 10 times in the match with the Eutectics claiming an edge only a few times. With the score tied at 21 apiece, the Clarke team came up with three kills and a block to claim the set at 25-22.

The fourth set had a similar feel to the third as the teams battled for the lead early on. But, at 9-9, the Pride won the next five of six points, taking advantage of several UHSP attacking errors while pounding down some big kills and take a 14-11 lead. The home team caught up to tie at 15, 16, 20, and 21, then took a 23-21 lead after a kill by Hoover (from Cwiklowski) and a Clarke error. But the Pride returned from a timeout to win the next four points off a kill and three Eutectic errors to take the set at 25-23 and force a fifth.

The Pride looked to have the advantage going into the deciding set, going up 4-2 before kills from Parker and Hoover, and a setting error by Clarke, gave the Eutectics a 5-4 lead. Following a 9-9 tie, the Purple and Gold came through with big kills from Behymer and Hoover and a block from Colado and Werner to go up 12-9. After another Hoover kill set by Cwiklowksi, the Eutectics had the Pride at set point at 14-12. But, a timeout allowed the Pride to regroup and return to the floor to pound down two kills in a row to tie it at 14 apiece. The Pride, however, could not keep it up, committing two back-to-back errors to lose the final two points and fall 16-14 in the final set to drop the match.

Cole Cwiklowski put up a whopping 52 assists in the match to break his own school record set against Clarke back in 2021 by one assist. Grant Hoover led both teams in kills, racking up 21 in the five sets. Marcus Parker had 11 kills on 21 attempts with only two errors for a hitting average of .429.  Dickson Colado and Connor Behymer also reached double figures in kills with 11 apiece. Cameron Werner collected five blocks, while Connor Behymer, Xavier Gamayo, and Colado picked up 11, 10, and nine digs, respectively.

With this Conference win, the Eutectics move to 12-5 overall and 3-4 in the HEART.

The UHSP team will be back in action on Saturday, when they play host to NAIA No. 10-ranked Mount Mercy University (16-4, 4-4) of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, in the UHSP gymnasium at 12 p.m.