Big games for Hoover and Dilks power Eutectics to 2-0 day

SALINA, KS – A 2-0 Saturday afternoon saw the Eutectics pick up a non-conference straight set blowout win over Central Christian followed by a Heart Conference victory over Kansas Wesleyan. David Quinones led UHSP with ten kills in the opening match while Demitrius Allen dished out 28 assists. Then Grant Hoover had the third-most kills in a match in Eutectic history when he piled up 23 against the Coyotes as RJ Dilks had yet another game dishing out over 50 assists as he racked up 54.

GAME 1 HIGHLIGHTS:

UHSP DEF. CENTRAL CHRISTIAN; 25-15, 25-19, 25-15

• Aidan VanCleef rattled off five straight service points as UHSP jumped out to a 6-1 lead to begin the match. Kills from VanCleef, Xander Quenzer and Preston Coburn brought the advantage to 11-3. The set was never in doubt as UHSP wrapped it up scoring the final four points on kills from VanCleef and Coburn, a Van Cleef ace and a kill by Jackson Brincks.
• Set two was much tighter, but after 2-2 the Eutectics only other deficit was at 8-7. A 6-1 run at that point turned the score in UHSP's favor to 13-9 as VanCleef had a kill, David Quinones had a kill and an ace and the Tigers had three errors. The Purple and Gold got the last four points of the set on CCC errors.
• The Eutectics slowly built the lead throughout the third set to eventually take it by ten. An early 5-0 run made the score 8-5 in UHSP's favor as Coburn had four straight service points as Quinones and Quenzer registered kills. Leading 13-11, the Eutectics took nine of the ensuing 11 to grab a comfortable 22-13 lead with a hitting error by Central Christian closing out the match.
• UHSP's 31.1% attack percentage matches their second-highest total this season.
• Preston Coburn had nine kills for the Eutectics. Zacchery Zrebiec led the defense with eight digs.
• Nobody for Central Christian had more than three kills. They had six players with three.
• Aidan VanCleef delivered five service aces.
• Joshua Condon had nine assists.

GAME 2 HIGHLIGHTS:

UHSP DEF. KANSAS WESLEYAN; 21-25, 25-17, 25-21, 25-19

• The opening set featured six early ties with the last one coming at 13-13. With KWU leading 17-15, the Coyotes used three kills and a UHSP error to take four of the next five and lead 21-16. Grant Hoover had a late kill to bring it within two at 22-20 and two points later Preston Coburn put one down to make it 23-21. The Coyotes scored the next two to take the opening set as they hit .394 for the set. The Eutectics were not bad on the attack, swinging at .256.
• The Eutectics sprinted out to a 9-1 lead in the second. Grant Hoover had a pair of kills while Cameron Werner and Dickson Colado each had one in the early run. Xander Quenzer eventually built the lead to double figures with a kill to make it 13-3. UHSP rolled to an easy win as they had 17 kills to seven hitting errors and had a .312 hitting percentage in the set. Kansas Wesleyan only had one hitting error, but only seven kills.
• In the third, UHSP duplicated their hitting performance from the second set: 17 kills, seven errors. But things were much tighter in the third as Werner set up Hoover for a kill to make it 10-10, the ninth tie of the set. It was Hoover again that put one down to make it 21-16 Eutectics and they never trailed by more than three the rest of the way.
• Ryan Wagner tallied a kill for the Coyotes early in the fourth to make it 5-5, the fourth tie of the set. Two kills from Hansen, one from Hoover and four KWU attack errors allowed UHSP to assemble a 12-7 lead. Again, three seemed to be the magic number as the Coyotes could never get it within three as Colado finished off the match with a kill.
• Both team swung well at the net as UHSP hit at 28.2% and the Coyotes hit at 27.8%. The difference was the Eutectics registered 64 kills while KWU had 47.
• Hoover and Hansen were outstanding at the net as the former had 23 kills and a 28.6% while the latter tallied 19 kills and hit at 25%.
• Dilks continues to make an assault on the top five all-time mark for single game assists. This is his fourth match this year with 50+ assists. Prior to this season, Cole Cwiklowski had been the UHSP record holder for each of the top five spots in single match assists with games of 60, 52, 51 and two with 50.
• Hoover is the co-leader in UHSP history along with Marcus Parker for most kills in a single match. They each reached 25 kills once.
• A trio of Eutectics had ten digs each: Xavier Gamayo, Hoover and David Quinones.
• Three different Coyotes had 10 kills and Ethan Ricketts had 29 assists.

UP NEXT:

The Eutectics (9-10, 5-7 HEART) jumps back into conference play when they host Missouri Baptist (18-4, 11-2) on Tuesday at 7:00p. The Spartans beat UHSP earlier this season in three straight back on Feb. 26 in Creve Coeur. Five of the next six for UHSP are at home.