QUINCY, Ill. -  The Hawks men's volleyball team kicked off the 2019 season with a 3-0 (25-16, 25-20, 25-19) win over the Culver-Stockton Wildcats Wednesday night (Jan. 16).  

Play by Play

1st Set

The Hawks began the game on a 4-1 run.  Freshman Stevie Bresser tallied a pair of kills to get the Hawks off on the right track. 

Culver-Stockton trimmed the lead to 5-3 before a 4-0 Hawks run extended the lead to 9-3.  Back to back service aces by Blake Sprecher was the key to the Hawks extended run. 

QU overcame nine attack errors during the first set and limited Culver-Stockton to just two kills in set one.  This allowed the Hawks to push their lead to 23-12 and ultimately won the first set 25-16.  

2nd Set

The Wildcats began the set by grabbing a 9-6 lead.  QU shifted the momentum by scoring four of the next five points to tie the game 10-10.  

QU used this momentum to take a 15-12 lead.  The Hawks and Wildcats traded points until the score read 20-17.

Culver scored the next two points to cut the lead to 20-19.  QU scored five of the final six points to take the second set 25-20. 

3rd Set

Quincy looked to sweep the Wildcats in three sets, but Culver-Stockton refused to go quietly.  QU and Culver-Stockton sat tied at 11-11 in a back and forth third set. 

The Hawks were extremely efficient on offense, hitting .545 in the third set. QU tallied 13 kills in the set.  

The balanced attack by the Hawks propelled QU to a 25-19 third set win.  QU limited the Wildcats to a .105 hitting percentage to secure the win.  

QU recorded seven service aces in the 3-0 sweep of Culver-Stockton.  

Coach's Corner

"The guys executed the game plan very well and took a personal interest in doing the little things right.  I felt the players really took ownership of our game plan and showed in the opening sets. Once Culver made adjustments, we were able to make adjustments on the fly. We really executed on the little things that dictated the outcome in the end," head coach Gavin Mueller stated.  "Coaching against my mentor, Caren Kemner, tonight was a great privilege.  I'd also like to thank President Conover for his support tonight as an honorary member of the coaching staff."

Stat Leaders

Brendon Estrada: 9 Kills, .438 Hitting Percentage
Blake Sprecher: 14 Kills, .632 Hitting Percentage

Next up for QU

Quincy hosts Park University in Pepsi Arena at 7:00 p.m on Friday (Jan. 18).

QU's Record

1-0