WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Adrian College men's volleyball team headed to Purdue University for the annual MIVA tournament this weekend. The Bulldogs made their presence felt as they went a perfect 5-0 over the first two days and fell just short in the championship match against Xavier in three sets.
The Bulldogs started out the day by dominating a very tough Central Michigan team as they won two tough matches 25-21 and 25-16. The Bulldogs were led by the unstoppable swings out of the middle by Lance Fulling with nine kills and the 24 assists from R.J. Adams.
The Bulldogs gained momentum early and did not look back as they faced Northwestern for second game of the day. Again, the Bulldogs were able to push through and win in two games 25-22 and 28-26. Overall, Adrian swung a collective .380 and had a combined 24 kills from the three headed monster of Spencer Simmons, Michael Flowers and Lance Fulling.
Coming off a long rest, the Bulldogs played a very tough Iowa team. Iowa was able to steal the first game from the Bulldogs, 22-25. Despite this setback, Adrian was able to come together as a team and completely man handle Iowa 25-18 and 15-10 in the next two sets to take the Hawkeyes down. Travis Wobrock came in off the bench and made several key defensive plays to help the Bulldogs pull away early in the last two games.
The last match of the day saw an exhausted Adrian team take on a newly found rival, Calvin College, for the first time in the tournament. The fatigued Bulldogs played sloppy the first game and let the match slip to the Knights, 24-26. Adrian was able to stay mentally strong and muster up energy to put the Knights in their place as they beat them in the next two matches, 25-21 and 15-4. The serving of Jesse Day played a huge role in helping the Bulldogs gain momentum and stay positive in the game.
Adrian went 4-0 on the day and the following players were selected as all-conference: Lance Fulling, Spencer Simmons, Craig Lantz and Michael Flowers.
After a night of celebration and a good night's rest the rejuvenated Bulldogs started the second day of the tournament off with a bang. Adrian played their rivals the Calvin College Knights in a rematch for the semifinals of the championship bracket. This time the Bulldogs were ready to play and beat the Knights in two games, 26-24 and 25-20. The team was again led by the three headed monster as they combined for 20 kills and only three errors on 27 attempts. As a team, the Bulldogs hit an impressive .500.
