March 3, 2009 | Box Score
Lamoni, IA-The men's volleyball team is hitting their stride at the perfect time in the season. Coming off of a week long break and from a match in which they lost a very tight match to Clarke College, Graceland won Tuesday night in dominating fashion 3-0 over Missouri Valley. The Jackets won 30-25, 30-25 and 30-23 which, one senior night, was an exciting way for the departing seniors to finish out there home season.
Honored tonight were seniors Austin Isham (Leewood, KS), Pono Yin (Aiea, HI), Steve Hennings (Davenport, IA), Hammish MacPhee (Victoria, Australia) Joe Klein (Richmond, MN) and Kevin Allison (Elgin, IL).
"You know Hamish MacPhee said it best... Last night was a story book ending for a senior night performance," stated Coach McDole following the win. "This really has been the best experience I have ever had as a head coach. I hope every coach can experience in their career the same type of team unity, leadership, commitment and maturity that these group of guys have showed this year!
We really did not give Missouri Valley a chance to be successful last night. Our passing could not have been better! The performance of our passing created a snowball of affects. Austin Isham averaged 14.6 assists per game which is well above the national average! Austin spread the ball out creating seams for our hitters to swing at all night long. Our hitters were extremely successful due to everyone performing well from serve receive, set distribution and fellow teammates putting the ball away at every position," continued McDole.
"Senior Joe Klein was our MVP for senior night. Joe had 9 kills, and hit .636% and averaged 2 blocks per game. Fellow middle hitter senior Steve Hennings had 9 kills, averaged a hitting percentage of .583% and averaged 1 block per game. Freshman Andres Quinones was our kill leader with 11 kills averaging an outstanding team leading hitting percentage as well of .643," concluded Coach McDole.
Graceland now stands at 10-5 overall. The Jackets will next prepare for their swing west as they'll fly to Denver, Colorado for two days worth of matches with Johnson & Wales University. From there GU will fly to sunny California to face a pair of NAIA schools on the west coast. Stay tuned to the Jacket athletics website for continuing coverage of the men's volleyball team and all of Jacket athletics.
For More Information on Graceland University Athletics Contact:
Matt Shelton, Sports Information Director
(641) 784-5318
mshelton@graceland.edu
Want to receive instant updates on your favorite teams or all the Graceland scores via text message or email? Sign up for the Jackets new "E-Score" service by clicking the e-scores link on the home page or each teams individual page.
