Running Eagles race past Rio

Rio Grande Sports Information
     WALESKA, Ga. - Life University parlayed strong finishes down the stretch into a 3-1 (25-19, 25-17, 20-25, 25-22) win over the University of Rio Grande, Friday afternoon, in non-conference men's volleyball action at Reinhardt University.
     The Running Eagles moved to 1-1 with the victory.
     The RedStorm slipped to 0-2 with the loss.
     Life bolted to a 2-0 match lead, scoring the final six points of the opening set and the final five winners in set two.
     Rio Grande used the same scenario to extend the match.
     The RedStorm squandered an early 6-2 lead in the third stanza, but rebounded and took a late 22-17 lead following a service ace by junior Mitch Bartecki (Valparaiso, IN).
     The Eagles reeled off three straight games to close the gap to 22-20, but Rio closed out the set by winning each of the final three points.
     Set four was a back-and-forth affair from the outset and saw the RedStorm in front, 20-18, after a kill by freshman Daniel Rivas (Valle Del Cauca, Colombia), but Life scored seven of the final nine points - including each of the final three winners - to close out the match.
     Jakub Kantotowicz and Vincent Eisinga had 11 and 10 kills, respectively, to lead the Running Eagles in the win.
     Carlos Stadtlober added 35 assists and two service aces for Life, while Alexis Prado had 18 digs.
     Jeremy Ferreira had a solo block and five block assists in the win, while Eisinga had a solo block and four block assists.
     Rivas led Rio with 12 kills, while Bartecki had 28 assists and freshman Maaz Khan (Peshawar, Pakistan) was credited with 15 digs.
     Senior Cam Griffith (Columbus, OH) had five block assists and senior Daniel Bedoya (Acacias, Colombia) had four block assists in a losing cause.
     Rio Grande returns to action on Tuesday night with its home opener against Bluefield University.
     First serve is set for 7 p.m. at the Newt Oliver Arena.