SYLVANIA, OH – Menlo Men's Volleyball was inside the Ebeid Rec Center to face #14 Lourdes University as game one of the Gray Wolf Invitational. The Oaks pushed the match to five sets against the nationally ranked #14 Gray Wolves of Lourdes University. A back-and-forth battle in the end would be decided by a Dylan Cohan solo block in the final set, 15-11. The Oaks will rest for the night before their head-to-head matchup against #9 Georgetown College on Friday at 2pm PST.
Oaks Outperform Gray Wolves
Menlo slightly beats out Lourdes across the entire box score in a side-by-side analysis. The Oaks were able to land 60 kills and hit an astonishing .378% as a team. Konrad Stoklosinski was part of 21 of those kills, as well as three aces and 2 block assists. Gabriel Knittel and Nowak Wojciech would also add 12 more kills each as the team's kills leaders. Lourdes also hit well as a team, landing 55 at .314%. William Lawler dished 51 of the Oaks 57 assists across the five sets outperforming the Gray Wolves 50 assists. What pushed Menlo ahead was their ability to earn service aces. The Oaks landed 10, 3 from Stoklosinski and Connell Kane each, which pushed them over the top compared to Lourdes 2 aces. All in all the battle was gritty but Menlo found a way to pull out another win to stay undefeated in the 2024 season.
Oaks in Five
The first set would go into extra points before falling in favor of the Gray Wolves, 24-26. Menlo responded with a swift 25-16 second set finished off by a Gabriel Knittel service ace. Set three was a side-out battle with the score ticking back and forth until things were held tied at 8. Lourdes was able to get a three-point lead from there and held it the rest of the set. The fourth set was in the Oaks hands as they led the way early on. A block assist from Konrad Stoklosinski, William Lawler, and Dylan Cohan set the match into the fifth where it would become an all out brawl for the victory. The William Lawler to Gabriel Knittel combo would help give the Oaks a three-point lead in the final set. From there it teetered between the Gray Wolves and the Oaks until a service error handed Menlo the set and match point. Another rally ensued when Dylan Cohan protected Menlo's side with a solo block to end it all, 15-11!
Up next….
Menlo Men's Volleyball has one sleep before they take on #9 Georgetown College at 2pm PST on Friday, February 9! Stream and live stat links will be available at Menloathletics.com.
