FORT WAYNE, Ind. - (TOURNAMENT PAGE) - The first round of the 2023 WHAC Men's Volleyball Tournament saw both lower seeds post victories. Sixth-seeded Cornerstone upended No. 3 Mount Vernon Nazarene 3-1 while fifth-seeded Lawrence Tech eliminated No. Aquinas 3-1.

Cornerstone and Aquinas now advance to the semifinals hosted by Indiana Tech on March 31. Lawrence Tech faces top-seeded Indiana Tech at 5 p.m. and Cornerstone battles second-seeded Lourdes at 7:30 p.m.

#5 Lawrence Tech (17-10) def. #4 Aquinas (13-13), 3-1 (24-26, 25-16, 25-16, 26-24)

Aquinas jumped to a five-point lead early in the opening set that forced LTU into a timeout after just seven points. The teams traded points until LTU benefitted from back-to-back attack errors and kills from Simon Phillip and Matheus Andrade to tie the set at 15-15. After close play where neither team gained more than a two-point advantage, Aquinas tied the set at 24 on a kill from Carter Sabo. An attack error by LTU gave the Saints the lead and Julian Armendano.

Set two was all Lawrence Tech as the Blue Devils went on a 10-2 run double their lead at 16-8. Aquinas got a couple of points back, but LTU finished off the set with kills from Andrade and Akram Askoul to tie the match at 1-1.

The third set followed the flow of the previous set with LTU playing to a 12-5 lead and never surrendering and scoring the final eight points of the set.

Aquinas went up 9-5 in the fourth set before LTU climbed back to tie it at 10. Play went back-and-forth until Armendano gave Aquinas a four-piont lead 20-16. The Blue Devils scored five of the next six points for a 21-21 tie and closed out the match with two kills and an ace for the upset. 

Stat Leaders
Kills: Julian Armendano 18 (AQ); Jeffry Fhurmann 15 (LTU)
Assists: Simon Phillip 49 )LTU); Leo-Paul Rousseau 40 (AQ)
Digs: Gustavo Heidrich 14 (LTU); Daniel Austin 12 (AQ)
Blocks: Joshua Beaumont 5 (CU);  JT McCarthy 5 (LTU) 

#6 Cornerstone (19-12) def. #3 Mount Vernon Nazarene (19-8), 3-1 (25-22, 14-25, 25-14, 26-24)

Cornerstone pushed to a 15-11 advantage for the largest lead the set would see before MVNU scored four of the next five points to knot the set at 16. The Cougars gained a two-point lead off consecutive attack errors before the teams traded points. Back-to-back kills from Landon Waltz gave CU the lead at 21-20. Spencer Stanley tied it for MVNU, but CU closed out the set by scoring four of the final five points.

MVNU held an 18-10 lead in the second set and continued to apply the pressure for a 21-12 lead. CU only scored two more points befor Riley Barretto and David Galanes then put the set away for the Cougars.

The third set was the mirror opposite of the second with Cornerstone out in front. The Golden Eagles built a 19-8 lead thanks to six kills by Galanes. Mount Vernon tried to close the gap, but the Golden Eagle offense was too much.

The teams were again evenly matched in the fourth set with neither enjoying more than a two-point lead. After back-and-forth play, Cornerstone tied it up at 17 and took a 19-17 lead. MVNU rallied and the score was again tied at 21. Stanley put the Cougars up by one when a service error tied it again at 22. A kill by Ewers gave MVNU the lead again only to Galanes tie it for Cornerstone. Errors by both teams left the score tied at 24-24 when Galanes slammed down a point for a 25-24 CU lead. An attack error on MVNU close out the set and match.

Stat Leaders
Kills: David Galanes 23 (CU); Spencer Stanley 14 (MVNU)
Assists: Patrick Voloch 38 (CU); Jaysen Matsumoto 38 (MVNU)
Digs: Daniel Skrzypchak 13 (MVNU); Kyi Jagorin 12 (CU)
Blocks: Hayvin Larison 5 (MVNU)