Red Devils Extend Winning Streak to 15 with Sweep of Kentucky State
EUREKA, Ill. – The No. 20 Eureka men's volleyball team extended its winning streak to 15 matches on Thursday night, defeating Kentucky State in straight sets, 25-13, 25-14, 25-16. The victory also marked the Red Devils' ninth consecutive sweep.
Kentucky State stayed within striking distance early in the opening set, tying the score at 5-5 before Eureka responded with a 6-0 run fueled by a pair of kills from Mason Johnson (Grove City, Minn./Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City), along with a kill from Maddox Kluesner (Magna, Utah/Stansbury) and an ace by Jayden Belanger (Las Vegas, Nev./Northwest CTA) to take an 11-5 lead. The Thorobreds later cut the deficit to 14-9, but another decisive Eureka surge followed as Claude Paras (Philippines/Canyon Springs) and Dyson Wutzke (San Diego, Calif./El Capitan) each delivered two kills and Ignacio Hernandez (Venezuela/Saint Francis Puerto Rico) added another to cap a 7-0 run that pushed the advantage to 21-9. The Red Devils closed out the set for a 25-13 win.
The second set followed a similar script as Kentucky State trailed just 6-5 before Eureka used a 5-0 run, highlighted by three Hernandez kills, to move ahead 11-5. After the Thorobreds trimmed the margin to 11-8, Eureka answered with four straight points to build a 15-8 lead. Kentucky State again fought back to make it 18-12, but kills from Johnson and Jake Potter (Galesburg, Ill./Galesburg Christian) allowed the Red Devils to maintain control as they secured a 25-14 set victory.
Eureka carried its momentum into the third set, jumping out to a 3-0 lead behind early kills from Kluesner and Reece Smith (Washington, Ill./Washington Community). After extending the lead to 6-3, the Red Devils used another 5-0 run, sparked by a Hernandez kill and a Belanger ace, to move in front 11-3. Kentucky State pulled within 14-8 before kills from Potter and Zamian Freeman (Hobbs, N.M./Hobbs) pushed the lead to 17-8. Hernandez later added a kill before Freeman delivered an ace to make it 19-9, and the duo combined for the final two kills as Eureka sealed the match with a 25-16 win in the third set.
Hernandez led Eureka with 12 kills while adding an ace, a block, and nine digs. Johnson contributed eight kills, two aces, and a .583 hitting percentage. Kendall Killins (Bolingbrook, Ill./Plainfield East) recorded a team-high 11 digs to go along with an ace, while Kawehi Kaneakua (Kalihi, Hawaii/University Laboratory School) dished out 32 assists. Kluesner finished with six kills and two blocks, and Belanger added three aces.
UP NEXT
Eureka returns to action this weekend at the Midwest D2 Invitational in Aurora, Illinois, where the Red Devils will face some of their toughest competition of the season in a field featuring the nation's top two teams and six of the top 10. Entering the tournament ranked 20th in the country, Eureka will look to continue its momentum against some of the nation's best competition.