BROOKLYN, NY - The Lions come back home with an important conference win after defeating Pratt Institute Cannoneers (6-7, 0-1) at the ARC on the road in Brooklyn, NY.
The Lions (7-10, 1-0) now hold a tie for first place with Lancaster Bible and Wilson College, each holding 1-0 records in conference play. With the score at 7-5 in set one, the Lions went on a 10-3 run that pulled them ahead 17-8. Pratt would score twice to make it 17-10, but another five-point run would all but seal the first set for the Lions. Bryn Athyn started on fire offensively, amassing 13 kills on 42.3% attacking while holding Pratt to 5 kills in the first set. The Cannoneers would respond in the second set, pulling out to a 10-6 lead. Kills by Ryan Gihvan, Bryan Choute , and Miles Shepard , as well as a service ace from Napolean Pizarro-Lind helped create a 5-2 run that brought the score to 12-11. Three unforced errors by the Lions helped the Cannoneers earn a four-point run and a 17-12 lead. The Lions closed the gap to a 21-21 tie, but Pratt would rattle off the final four points to earn set two. Pratt would jump out to a quick 6-1 start. The Lions responded with a 7-0 run of their own, including two of Bryan Choute's 22 kills and one of Owen Reuter's four service aces. The teams would trade leads throughout the third set before back-to-back kills by Pratt's Brooks Reid gave his team a 22-20 advantage. Bryan Choute would respond with a kill, but two more kills from Reid would give Pratt the 24-21 advantage. In a gutsy effort, the Lions would fight to earn a three-point run and tied the match 24-24, but a Lions attack error and a kill by Pratt outside hitter Max Wang would give Pratt the set three win and a 2-1 advantage. Bryn Athyn would bounce back aggressively in the fourth set, with five kills from Choute and two from Miles Shepard leading the Lions to a 10-5 lead. Pratt would fight to respond, but two more kills from Shepard would help Bryn Athyn hold a 16-10 lead. The two teams would trade three-point runs, with two more kills from Choute driving the offense at 19-13. Four kills by Shepard gave the Lions the push they needed to finish set four with a 25-20 win. Set five began with two kills by Shepard, followed by a kill from Choute that helped the Lions gain a 5-2 advantage. The teams would trade possessions before a kill and a service ace by Choute would open an 8-4 Lions lead at the fifth set exchange. Shepard and Choute would both register a kill each in route to an 11-4 lead. After a Lions service error and attacking error, Shepard would get a strong kill off the set from libero Adan Rodriguez-Sapien to go up 12-6. The Lions would go on a 3-1 run to finish the fifth set at 15-7 and win the match 3-2. Ryan Givhan would collect a career high seven blocks in the match. The total ties a program record set by Jaryn McCann on March 15, 2023. Givhan finished with a productive four kills on 14% attacking.
Miles Shepard earned two career highs in the match by tallying 24 kills and 13 digs. This was the seventh time the freshman outside hitter has recorded a double-double this season. Adan Rodriguez-Sapien collected a season-high 20 digs in the match. The sophomore libero surpassed 500 career digs in the match and is the program leader currently with 519. Rodriguez-Sapien also handed out six assists from the back row in the match, which marked a season high. "I felt like it was a strong team effort tonight," said head coach Jason Barshinger. "We had a good game plan in place, and we adjusted where and when needed. I thought we showed a lot of resilience. We make some corrections, both offensively and defensively, that really played a part in the win." Bryn Athyn finished with 56 kills on 18.6% attacking to Pratt's 42 kills with a 10.2% attack. The Lions outpaced the Cannoneers in points, kills, aces, blocks, assists, and digs for the match.
Bryn Athyn will return home to face Saint Elizabeth in their second conference match of the season. The game is scheduled for Saturday, March 8 at 7:00 pm at the Asplundh Field House.
