Shorthanded Pride fall in straight sets to UHSP

DUBUQUE, Iowa - Dealing with a bout of sickness and a few injuries limited their roster, the Clarke University men's volleyball team lost a 3-0 match to University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy in St. Louis on Friday night in the Kehl Center.

The Eutectics were able to run away with a 25-17 first set and looked to potentially do the same in the second, up by as many six points as late as 18-12, but CU would fight back to 24-23 before UHSP earned the set point with a Jackson Brincks kill, then the third set an early Pride lead was wiped away in short order and kept close all the way to 22-22 as UHSP scored three-straight points to lead 24-22 and eventually close out the match on a Maxwell McVickers kill.

Clarke finished with a .000 hitting percentage in two of the three sets to finish the match at a .057 mark with 29 kills and 24 errors as freshman Nolan Amdur finished with a team-high eight kills playing on the right side all match partially due to the roster limitations with Tanner May finishing with seven kills on 13 swings in a pair of sets for a .385 while adding two block assists and a solo block.

On the opposite side of the net, UHSP was led by McVickers' 10 kills on 17 swings for a .529 hitting percentage as he was supported by a pair of eight kill matches from Cooper Hansen and Grant Hoover for 26 kills primarily from setter RJ Dilks, who finished with a match-high 30 assists and was two digs away from a double-double.

Clarke men's volleyball will be back to action in the Heart on Saturday afternoon when they welcome Missouri Baptist University to the Kehl Center for a 1:00 p.m. CT scheduled first serve between the Pride and Spartans.