Eagles Rattled by Thunder

ANKENY, Iowa—The Faith Eagles volleyball team fell to 9-7 on the year after a tough matchup with Manhattan Christian Saturday evening at the Nettleton Center. The Thunder used a spectacular front line attack that accounted for 42 kills.

Like an impressive display of cloud-to-ground lightning, the Thunder relentlessly struck volleyballs from the sky to the floor, taking out the Eagles, three sets to none. The Thunder recorded 42 kills, which is the most allowed to an Eagles opponent all season in three sets.

Set one

Manhattan Christian (7-5) jumped to an early 6-1 lead in the first set and never trailed, winning 25-21. The Eagles pulled as close as 17-15, but were never able to grab control.

Set two

Faith jumped to a 3-0 lead in set two and trailed by only one point (11-10) before the Thunder struck for nine straight, led by five kills, making it 20-10. Most of Faith's points came off of attack errors by Manhattan in the set.

Set three

The Eagles held their own in set number three, holding a 4-1 lead early, thanks to two kills by Abby Booth. Manhattan Christian regained control of the set midway through after a run of ten kills gave them a 13-9 advantage. The Eagles responded with a 10-4 run to take a 19-17 lead, but an attack error and a Thunder ace tied it up at 19 apiece.  Multiple errors down the stretch cost the Eagles the set and the game as the Thunder won, 25-22.

Next

Faith hits the court Tuesday night at 6:00 p.m. at the Nettleton Center for a conference matchup against Emmaus, who is ranked #1 in the nation in NCCAA Division II, and remains undefeated at 13-0.