NEWTON, Mass. – Mount Ida College led two games to none and then held an early lead in the deciding fifth set on Tuesday evening, but saw Albertus Magnus College come from behind to claim a 3-2 victory in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) men's volleyball action at Mount Ida Athletic Center.
In a battle of two teams looking for their first GNAC win, the Falcons fell behind after Mustang wins of 25-19 and 25-18, but took the third and fourth sets by scores of 25-20 before coming from behind for a 15-12 win in the tiebreaker.
Glenn Johnson (Newington, Conn.), who had 16 kills to lead the Falcons (2-6, 1-3 GNAC), spiked his final point of the night to break a 12-12 tie in the final set and give Albertus the lead, which they would use to seal the victory on two Mount Ida attack errors.
Junior James Ames (W. Hartford, Conn.) led all players with 19 kills for Mount Ida, who fall to 5-12 and 0-5 in the GNAC after looking like they would extend their winning streak to three games.
Ames and the Mustangs won six straight points to grab a 9-5 lead in the opening set and held their advantage through the rest of the game. They doubled their advantage in the match with another run in the second set, this one which took an 8-8 game and gave them an 18-8 advantage.
That run was served by junior Michael McCullough (Southborough, Mass.), who picked up 47 assists in the match, along with a service ace and 13 digs.
Looking to finish off a three-set victory, the Mustangs led 16-12 in the third set, but Josh Turner (Trumbull, Conn.) served an 8-0 run to give the Falcons the edge. Johnson had a pair of kills during the decisive run, and Daniel Valmont (Orange, N.J.) also contributed as part of his 7 kills day.
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 seize control of the set and tie the match.
Tharau had 10 kills in the match win for Albertus, and picked up 15 digs, second only to Johnson's 17.
Johnson and Turner each had three solo blocks, with Turner also in on a block assist.
For the Mustangs, Peter Griffenkraz (Deer Park, N.Y.) had 15 kills and senior Kalyn Smithson (Vilseck, Germany) picked up six kills in the five set loss.
Mustang junior Dennis Miranda (Havana, Cuba) racked up eight kills and seven digs, while Corey Brindamour (Barrington, R.I.) had eight digs, three kills, and served up two of Mount Ida's five aces.
Mount Ida now begins an extended road trip that carries them over Spring Break, starting on Thursday evening when they travel to Elms for their final non-conference game of the year, a 7:00 pm affair.
The Falcons take a two week rest before travelling to Rivier on March 17th for a 7:00 pm GNAC contest.