MiscStunners Battle From 2-1 Deficit and Win in 5 Set Thriller to Advance to NVA Semifinals Against Southern Exposure

Stunners Coach Daryl Adams put Matt Hilling as the starting Opposite, and setter Randy Ramirez didn’t waste time, with Matt scoring on his first six swings. Ramirez also contributed with a service ace during this run giving the Stunners an 8-4 lead. Stunners kept the 4-point lead for most of the set. But Tyrants battled back with kills by #22 Austen Lovett and #16 Daniel Jacobs to cut the lead to 18-16. Stunners countered with two kills by Hilling and #7 Joey Jarvis plus a block by #9 Nick West to close the set at 25-20. 

In set #2, Tyrants took the early lead, primarily due to Stunners’ passing and hitting errors. While #6 Corey Chavers and Jarvis struggled, Tyrants’ hitters capitalized by scoring their points in transition. With blistering attacks from Jacobs and Ryan Maune, the Tyrants Increased their lead to 6-points at the media timeout 16-10. Tyrants held on with their defense and coasted to a 25-18 victory after a kill by Jacobs. 

In set #3, the Stunners’ hitters improved their play and held on to a 1-point lead for most of the match. But the Tyrants’ tenacious, gritty defensive kept the score close as the teams exchanged the lead several times. At 20-20, the game began to switch to the Tyrant’s favor as the Stunners’ offense began to crumble again. Stunners’ #22 Nick Amado, an anchor for the team, committed a hitting error, giving the Tyrants the lead 22-21. Daniel Jacobs capitalized with a bounce kill on a Stunners’ overpass, pulling away to 23-21. Tyrants held on to a 24-23 lead and won the set on a Stunn’ers’ service error at 25-23. 

In set # 4 Stunners took an early lead by getting middles Nick Amado and Nick West running again in their offense. A run of kills by Jarvis and Chavers and blocks by Amado and Hilling gave the Stunners an 11-5 lead. Tyrants sided out well to stay within 6 points. Then before the media timeout, a Chavers block with his hands above the antenna increased their lead to 16-9. Tyrants attempted a rally on a dump kill by #10 Gabriel Quinones and a set of kills by Jacobs and Grasso. But at 20-14, the Stunners scored on two kills by West to 23-15. Tyrants countered with a mini-run with kills by Grasso and a block by Lovett. But it wasn’t enough as the Stunners closed out the set with a service ace by West and a kill by Hilling kill 25-18. 

In set #5, Stunners took the early lead at 8-3 on kills by Chavers, Hilling, and Jarvis. Tyrants scored on kills by #1 Anthony Robinson and Daniel Jacobs. After Tyrants sided out, the Stunners struggled to do the same, and the Tyrants scored a run of transition points with three kills by Grasso and a block by Lovett to cut the lead to 10-9. But the Stunners bounced back at 11-10 and scored the following four consecutive points on a kill by Chavers, Ramirez service ace, and then a finishing block and kill by Chavers to win the match 15-10. 

Match Statistics

OC Stunners:

#6 Corey Chavers – 30 Points (25 Kills, 4 Blocks, 1 Ace)

#18 Matt Hilling – 16 points (15 Kills, 1 Block)

#7 Joey Jarvis – 13 Points (12 Kills, 1 Block)

#22 Nick Amado – 12 Points (11 Kills, 1 Block)

#9 Nick West – 6 Points (6 Kills)

 

Texas Tyrants:

#9 Gianluca Grasso – 19 points (18 Kills, 1 Ace)

#16 Daniel Jacobs – 12 Points (12 Kills)

#15 Ryan Maune – 12 Points (10 Kills, 1 Ace, 1 Block)

#1 Anthony Robinson – 10 Points (8 Kills, 2 Blocks)