PARKVILLE, Mo. – The Ottawa University men's volleyball team finished day two at the Park Invitational with a record of 1-1. The Braves fell 3-1; 25-20, 23-25, 17-25, 21-25; to Westcliff University but rebounded to defeat Goshen College 3-1; 22-25, 25-19, 25-19, 25-23.

Westcliff University

• Ottawa led 8-4 in set one over Westcliff. A kill by Kadeem Morris and an Akeil Williams' service ace gave the Braves an 11-6 lead. Westcliff rallied, scoring five straight points to tie the set at 11 all. OU answered with four straight points, taking a 15-11 lead on a Macort Pickup kill. Westcliff was not able to rally, and the Braves took the 25-20 victory.
• The Braves fell behind 6-2 in set two. OU chipped away at the Westcliff lead and after a WU attacking error, the set was tied 20-20. Westcliff retook the lead on a Brave service error. Ottawa answered by scoring the next two points, taking a 22-21 lead on a block by Akeil Williams. WU scored the next two points, retaking the lead 23-22. The Braves tied the set on a Petar Lazic kill, 23-23. Ottawa was not able to complete its rally. Westcliff scored the next two points of the set, taking the 25-23 victory.
• Westcliff scored the first seven points of set no. 3. Ottawa was not able to recover from its slow start and WU took the 25-17 victory.
• Ottawa took a 6-4 lead over Westcliff in set four on a block by Williams and Marton Zarka. Westcliff rallied, taking a 16-12 lead over the Braves. OU was not able to stage a comeback and WU took the 25-21 victory.

Inside the Box Score

• OU finished the match with 51 kills, a .272 attacking percentage, 47 assists, six service aces, 30 digs, and nine team blocks.
• Petar Lazic led the Braves with 16 kills. He had a .520 attacking percentage and two blocks.
• Macort Pickup was the other Brave with double digit kills. He finished the match with 14 kills and eight digs.
• Maton Zarka led the Braves with 46 assists.
• Derrick Hajka had two service aces.
• Akeil Williams led the Braves with seven blocks.

Goshen College

• Ottawa had a 7-5 lead in set one but Goshen rallied to take a 10-7 lead over the Braves. OU cut into the Maple Leaf lead and after a kill by Macort Pickup, Ottawa was within 16-15. Goshen increased its lead to 22-18. OU again cut into the Maple Leaf lead and after a block by Akeil Williams and Marko Zolnjan, Ottawa trailed 23-22. That was all the closer the Braves were able to get to GC. Goshen scored the next two points, taking the 25-22 victory.
• The Braves scored the first three points of set two. A kill by Williams and a Nazmi Bayoglu service ace gave OU a 10-8 lead. Ottawa continued to hold its advantage over the Maple Leafs and after a block by Zolnjan, Horia Flipisan, and Kadeem Morris, the Braves led 17-13. Ottawa didn't allow Goshen to rally down the stretch and OU took the 25-19 victory.
• Ottawa jumped out to a 5-2 lead over Goshen in set three. A kill by Petar Lazic and an attacking error by the Maple Leafs gave OU a 12-6 lead. The Braves' lead was never threatened and OU took the 25-19 victory.
• With Goshen leading 8-6 in set four, the Braves went on a 10-1 run to take a 16-9 lead. OU increased its lead to 21-14 on kills by Zolnjan and Williams. Goshen did not wilt and rallied to get within 23-24 of the Braves. After an OU timeout Ottawa took the set and the match on the next point, a Zolnjan kill, 25-23.

Inside the Box Score

• Ottawa finished the match with 56 kills, a .360 attacking percentage, 55 assists, three service aces, 42 digs, and 8.5 team blocks.
• Macort Pickup led the Braves with 17 kills. He had six digs.
• Marko Zolnjan had 14 kills and a .529 attacking percentage. He also had four blocks.
• Akeil Williams was the third Brave with double digit kills, finishing the match with 10. He had a .692 attacking percentage, five digs, and five blocks.
• Marton Zarka had 51 assists and six digs.
• Nazmi Bayoglu led the Braves with 10 digs.

Who is Next
Ottawa (3-2) returns to the court on Tuesday, February 5 against Simpson College in Wilson Field House. First serve is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.