GREENVILLE, Pa.  – The Hilbert College Men's Volleyball team, who returned to action after an 11-day break, slipped in a four-set loss to Thiel College in Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference action tonight. 

Thiel, 11-10, sits in third place with a 6-2 league record while the Hawks, with five conference games left to play, holds onto a top six ranking at 3-5.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Brad Converse earned a season-high 19 kills off of a season high 47 attempts, and Nick Diello added eight kills.  Austin Chandler dished 38 assists and added a team-high 16 digs while Alex Overhoff chipped in three service aces and 15 digs.

• Thiel built a slight edge on the score board early but Hilbert played point-for-point through the 12-10 score.  The Tomcats went on a three-point run and built a five point spread which held up the rest of the opening set.  Both teams finished with identical 13 kills yet the Hawks committed seven attack errors to Theil's one.  Nick Diello plastered a team-best four kills in the 25-16 loss.
• The Hawks reversed their fortune in the second set, collecting 12 more kills with an improved .235 attack percent, three service aces and two blocks while limiting Thiel offensively (.000) in Hilbert's 25-17 victory.  Hilbert held a 5-4 lead early then connected for a 6-point run to set the pace of the set.  Thiel inched back to a five point game multiple times, but the Hawks held strong as they evened the match at 1-1.  Brad Converse led with seven kills and a service ace.
• After trailing most of the third set, but by only a few side outs, the Hawks rallied late and forced an 18-18, a 19-19, and a 20-20 score.  Thiel strung two consecutive points together which was just enough room to hold on for the 25-22 win.  Converse led with eight kills in the third set but had help offensively by Alex Overhoff,  Nick Diello and Ryan Levcik.
• Both teams traded points for the first third of the fourth set before the Tomcats pushed three-to-four point runs together.  Trailing 6-14, Hilbert closed the gap to 10-14 yet that was as close as they got the rest of the way with Theil winning the match with a 25-15 set victory. 

The Hawks earned 50 points, 44 kills, six service aces, five blocks, 42 assists and 77 digs while the Tomcats scored 61 points, 46 kills, four aces, 11 blocks, 44 assists and 85 digs for the win.

UP NEXT

Hilbert, 6-13, 3-5 AMCC, waits a week before they compete again.  The Hawks will travel to Penn State Altoona for a 1:00 pm AMCC league March 25th.