Clarke Falls to UHSP, 3-1

ST. LOUIS, Mo. – The Clarke University men's volleyball team was able to pick up a third-set victory over the University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy, but the Eutectics thwarted the Pride's comeback attempt and handed Clarke a 3-1 defeat.

Freshman Justin Hernandez paced the Pride with 10 kills and eight digs. Fellow freshman Kainoa Gerard had 36 assists. Zachary Barre and Hernandez combined for five triple blocks.

The Pride scored four of the first five points in the first set before UHSP fought back and took the lead, 7-6. The teams remained close as Clarke trailed 7-9. The Eutectics would go on a 7-2 run midway through the set to establish a 16-9 advantage. UHSP would maintain their cushion and claim the opening set.

The second set saw the Eutectics ump out to a 10-2 advantage before Clarke scored five of the following six points to trim the lead, 11-7.  UHSP scored 13 points to push the lead to nine, 24-15, before Clarke scored four-straight to make it 24-19. An attack error by Ray Timothy gave the Eutectics the final point to close out the set.

The third set saw the Pride and Eutectics go back-and-forth over the first eight points, leading to a 4-4 draw. The two teams would then continue to keep the score close with one another and would combine for 15 ties throughout the set. Clarke would eventually go to take the set and trim the overall deficit to 2-1.

The Pride jumped out to an 8-3 lead in the fourth set before UHSP fought its way back to a 14-all tie. The two programs kept it close and tied it at scores of 16-6, 17-17 and 18-18, but the Eutectics went on a 6-1 run to push the lead to 24-19. Tye Ojala recorded a kill to trim the deficit to four, but a service error closed out the game as UHSP won the set, 25-20.

The Pride will return to action on Tuesday, Feb. 15, when it hosts the Viterbo University V-Hawks. The matched is scheduled for 7 p.m. in the Kehl Center.