The Albertus Magnus men's volleyball team came from behind to defeat Mount Ida College 3-2 in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) play on Tuesday night in Newton, Mass.
The Mustangs led 2-0 early before the Falcons' battled back en route to the victory. Albertus improves to 2-6 on the year with the win and 1-3 in league play as tonight marked the Falcons' first GNAC victory. The loss drops the Mustangs to 5-12 on the year and 0-5 in league action.
Mount Ida won the first set 25-19 before taking the second by a score of 25-18. Albertus never gave up and took the third and fourth sets by scores of 25-20 before winning in the fifth and final set 15-12 in another thrilling set.
Glenn Johnson (Newington, Conn.) tallied 16 kills to lead Albertus. He was a key factor in the Falcons' final set victory as he broke a 12-all tie, giving Albertus the lead for good. Back-to-back hitting errors by the Mustangs secured the victory for the Falcons.
James Ames led Mount Ida with an impressive 19 kills. Michael McCullough dished out 47 assists in the match, while he added one service ace and 13 digs.
In the third set, the Mustangs led 16-12 and looked like they would cruise to victory before the Falcons answered with an 8-0 run to give Albertus the lead.
The tide turned in the fourth set with the Mustangs ahead 16-15, when Justin Tharau (Burlington,Conn.) served another 8-0 run for Albertus, helping them tie the match at two sets apiece.
Tharau had 10 kills in the match win for Albertus and picked up 15 digs, while Johnson had 17. Johnson and Turner each had three solo blocks, with Turner also in on a block assist. Daniel Valmont (Orange, N.J.) also contributed with seven kills.
Mount Ida's Peter Griffenkraz had 15 kills and Corey Brindamour had eight digs, three kills, and two service aces.
The Falcons take a two-week rest before traveling to Rivier on March 17th for a 7:00 pm GNAC contest.
