ADRIAN, Mich. - On the first day of the Adrian College men's volleyball quad, the Bulldogs utilized a strong start en route to their first victory of 2022, defeating Millikin University 3-1.
"I think we're a very talented team, and we have a lot of potential," said head coach
Jose Soto.
"It was nice to see all the hard work we put in at practice come to the gym here today."
The four-set victory over the Big Blue marks career coaching victory No. 1 for Soto, who took over at the helm of the program during the fall semester.
Another significant highlight of the match came early in the fourth set when senior transfer
Brandon Ravelo recorded his 1,000-career assist on a kill by
Chase Heuer.
"It felt good," expressed Ravelo. "This being the third different school in my career, I'm glad I got to do it in front of my teammates and my coaches."
In all, Ravelo finished the afternoon with a match-high 41 assists for the black and gold, a chunk of that total coming in the game's first two sets.
The Bulldogs' attack was relentless in the first and second frames. In fact, Adrian's offense was error free in the second set, sporting a 0.600 attack-percentage.
In that second set, the 'Dogs trailed Millikin 11-10 before posting seven-straight points to open up a six-point cushion. During that stretch, the Big Blue fell into a series of errors, of which Adrian found ways to capitalize off of, including a
David Barona service ace and a kill by
Beck Fieldhouse.
From that moment on, the locals carried the momentum to a two-set advantage, capitalized by Heuer kill.
The Big Blue managed to steal a nail-bitter in the third set to force an extra frame, and were looking poised to draw a fifth.
However, a 6-0 run by Adrian midway through the game's deciding set proved too much for the visitors to overcome, ultimately resulting in a hard-fought win for the Bulldogs.
"I think we came out and tried to coast on the third set," noted Soto. "This definitely turned into a learning experience for our younger guys."
Heuer led a trio of Bulldogs with 10-plus kills, closing the match with 16, followed by
Andrew Gawrisch and Fieldhouse with 12 each.
The sophomore, along with Ravelo also paced the team on the defensive end with 10 digs a piece.
"Today was a good step for us," said Ravelo. "It shows the fight we have as a group."
Adrian will take on Olivet and Marian on Sunday afternoon beginning at 10 a.m.
The Comets went 1-1 in two matches on Saturday, including a loss to the Sabres.
