Tigerville – North Greenville’s final regular-season tune-up was a successful one, downing Belmont Abbey College in four sets (21 – 25 / 25 – 18 / 25 – 13 / 25 – 19).

The Basics

• Score: Crusaders – 3 / Crusaders (BAC) – 1
• Records: North Greenville 13 – 15 (7 – 9) / Belmont Abbey 12 – 15 (8 – 8)
• Location: Hayes Gymnasium (North Greenville University)

How it Happened 

• Abbey’s offense was the difference in game one as they finished with 15 – kills on 25 chances.
• The game remained close until close to the midway point when the Fleet took a 15 – 11 lead. North Greenville inched closer and pulled to within two at 18 – 20 but Abbey extended it to four points before scoring the game point after Ben Hamsho made it 21 – 24 with a kill.
• North Greenville pulled even in game two with a solid offensive attack paired with strong defense at the net.
• The Crusaders pulled ahead early but gained full control later in the set when Hamsho put down another kill to make it 18 – 13.
• Belmont Abbey chipped away and pulled to within three (17 – 20) on an NGU attack error but it would be the final point for the Crusaders from up north.
• Back-to-back spikes from Jackson Gilbert and Brandon Baker made it 23 – 17. BAC then added to NGU’s point total as the final two scores including the game-winner came on Abbey errors.
• NGU finished with nine blocks in the second frame and had 14 – kills on 26 – attempts.
• The momentum carried over in the third frame as NGU turned up the pressure. Adding four more blocks on defense, which helped hold the BAC Crusaders to just 10 – kills and 11 errors.
• North Greenville put together its best performance of the night on offense but relied on a combined 16 – errors including 9 – attack and 7 – errors from the service line.
• The Crusaders would turn in the largest lead of the night for either team as a Matthew McManaway service ace followed by a BAC error made it 20 – 11.
• Abbey tacked on a pair of points in the final serves of the frame but NGU got four errors and an ace from Brandon Baker to earn the 2 – 1 set lead.
• North Greenville and Belmont Abbey stayed close in the third frame which sat at 7 – 7 at one point.
• North Greenville eventually gained control though later on in the set. Jackson Gilbert pounded down a pair of kills while Hamsho and McManaway also helped with kills to make it 16 – 10.
• The lead for NGU would dwindle later in the set as Abbey put together a quick run to cut the deficit to three points.
• The two squads then traded service errors including a pair from Abbey and one from NGU to make it 22 – 18 in favor of North Greenville.
• NGU then inched closer to the win with an Abbey error that extended the lead to five points. Jackson Gilbert made it 24 – 18 with a service ace before a final error from Abbey helped NGU to the four-set victory.

Inside the North Greenville Box Score

• North Greenville had one of its best offensive nights of the season, finishing with 42 – kills 85 – attempts.
• Matthew McManaway led all NGU scorers with 12 – kills while Jackson Gilbert added 11.
• Ben Hamsho rounded out the double-digit scorers with 10 on the night. Gilbert and Aaron Campbell led all players with four assisted blocks to go along with a solo stop.
• Campbell and Dustin King led the team with seven digs while Jake Boldog had 38 – assists and three digs.
• North Greenville finished with 15 – assisted blocks on the night and five service aces.

Beyond the Box Score

• The win over Abbey on Wednesday night was the first over BAC in four years.

Next Time Out

• The Crusaders gear up for the postseason with a trip up to North Carolina to take on the same Belmont Abbey team at 6:30 in the first round of the Conference Carolinas playoffs.