GREENVILLE, Pa. – Third-seeded Chatham Men's Volleyball (16-9, 8-4 PAC) saw their run in the PAC Tournament come to an end on Saturday evening, as they were defeated in the Championship Match at #1 Thiel (23-8, 11-1) by a final score of 3-1 (25-19, 25-22, 20-25, 25-17).
Ben Shelestak led the Cougars in kills for the second consecutive match, tallying a match-high 17 while hitting .355.
Tim McCabe also hit .355 for the match, recording 16 kills.
Derek Paul contributed 8 kills and 7 digs.
RJ Nagg had a match-high 43 assists.
John Gasiorowski anchored the defense with a match-high 8 digs.
Jordan Haas and
Armani George both registered 2 blocks, and
Evan Barrick had Chatham's sole ace in the match.
Ezra Oesterling led the Tomcat attack with 16 kills on .560 hitting with 2 aces. Kaleb Proudfoot hit .545 with 13 kills and 4 blocks. Eli Olszowka recorded 25 assists with 7 digs, and George Schwalm IV notched 10 kills for Thiel.
The Tomcats got off to a 6-1 start in the opening set. 3 straight Cougar points that included a George kill and Barrick ace made the score 17-13 Thiel, but the Tomcats held their ground to claim a 1-0 lead in the match. Set two was a tight battle, as two kills by Paul evened the score at 10 apiece. Another George kill had the score 16-14 Thiel. The Tomcats used an ensuing 4-0 run to create separation. Three kills in five points from Shelestak would not be enough, as Thiel secured a three-point set victory.
Chatham had a strong start to the third set, using kills by Shelestak and Paul to build a 10-8 advantage. A 5-1 run later in the set via two McCabe kills extended the lead to 19-15. The Cougars would win 3 of the final 4 points in the set with two kills from Shelestak and the set-winning kill by Paul. Back-to-back Shelestak kills capped a 4-0 run in the fourth set that knotted the score at 7. The Tomcats slowly built a lead, as consecutive kills by McCabe made the score 15-12 Thiel, but a 6-1 Tomcat run followed and Thiel was able to secure their second straight PAC Championship.
The match will wrap up a historic season for Chatham, which won a program record 16 matches and reached the PAC Championship match for the first time.
