Elder volleyball upsets St. Xavier to give Bombers 1st loss of season
Just one week removed from turning a 2-0 advantage into a five-set defeat at Moeller, the Elder Panthers stared down the same misfortune against undefeated St. Xavier.
Fred Harvey's kills decided both the first and second sets for Elder. That's when the Bombers, ranked No. 4 in the country and the top team in the Midwest in the American Volleyball Coaches Association boys volleyball poll, took complete control of the momentum and the third and fourth sets.
The Bombers looked to be in prime position to complete their sweep of the Greater Catholic League South when they took an 8-2 lead in the deciding set. Elder followed with a 13-5 run to take the set and the match 25-20, 25-23, 11-25, 12-25, 15-13.
"One of the points that I made after our second-set win was, 'Hey we were in this position last week. Let's learn from it. Let's make sure we get a different, better outcome.' Of course, that didn't happen in the third and fourth sets," Elder head coach Sean Tierney said. "But they came back and gutted it out and played with confidence and under pressure were able to deliver, especially with some of our youngsters out there."
The Bombers, who beat Elder in four sets on March 21, fell to 17-1 overall with the defeat, but their 5-1 mark still gives them the solo GCL South title.
St. Xavier head coach Bill Ferris said the Bombers struggled with serving and some unforced errors before making an adjustment ahead of the third set. Once their errors were solved, St. Xavier showed the skills that made them a top-ranked team in the nation.
"We dominated. Those two games were not close," Ferris said about St. Xavier's play after adjustments. "It's because we didn't make the errors that we made in game one and two."
The Bombers surged back behind senior Bentley Meyer, who knocked down 26 kills in the game, giving him just under 200 kills for the season. Junior setter Aiden Berkmeier added 40 assists to push him over 400 for the campaign.
St. Xavier (17-1, 5-1 GCL South) look to rebound at Walnut Hills on Tuesday, May 2, before the regular-season finale against Sycamore on Thursday, May 4. Elder (13-7, 3-3 GCL South) wraps up its regular season with a trip to Centerville on Monday, May 1, before hosting Loveland two nights later.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Elder volleyball wins in five-sets against undefeated St. Xavier
