Saturday, April 1
Fort Wayne, Ind.
7 PM
Purdue Fort Wayne
16-10,7-5MIVA
3
vs
1
Lindenwood
9-11,6-6MIVA
1
2
3
4
F
Lindenwood
22
25
18
17
1
Purdue Fort Wayne
25
22
25
25
3
Carlos Mercado, Noah Melendez, Sergio Carrillo
Photo by: Rachel Von Art
Seniors Shine on Mastodon MVB Senior Day
4/1/2023 10:16:00 PM | Men's Volleyball
FORT WAYNE, Ind. - Behind 16 kills from Carlos Mercado, the Purdue Fort Wayne men's volleyball team picked up a critical win on Senior Night on Saturday (April 1) over Lindenwood 3-1 (25-22, 22-25, 25-18, 25-17).
The seniors were the story of the match through and through. Mercado's 16 kills marked a new career-high, and he added five digs, two aces and a block. Sergio Carrillo registered a double-double with 38 assists and 11 digs and Noah Melendez had dive digs in the backcourt. Mercado, Carrillo and Melendez were honored before the match for the time they spent as Mastodons.
While the seniors honored were certainly in the spotlight, the rising seniors were equally as important in the match. Jon Diedrich registered 14 kills and an ace with an efficient .310 hitting performance and Bryce Walker had eight kills, three aces and three blocks with an even more effective .412 hitting clip.
The Mastodons' pressure from the service line was a large contributing factor to the win. The 'Dons had 10 aces and 11 errors from the line. The 10 aces tied a season-high.
The Mastodons gained control early in the contest, jumping out to an 11-5 lead after a block and kill from Walker. Shortly after, a 5-0 run behind Mercado's service put them up 17-8. This run featured a kill and pair of aces from Mercado. Lindenwood held off four consecutive set points, but Carrillo and Ryan Steponaitis combined for the block to give the 'Dons an early lead. Mercado had a perfect 5-0-5 performance offensively in the opening set.
The second set was full of runs and Lindenwood used a 7-2 run over the last nine points to even the match at a set each.
Purdue Fort Wayne silenced the Lions' offense in set three, holding them to -.032 (9-10-31). After an 11-9 lead for the Lions, the 'Dons finished the set on a 16-7 push. Carrillo had five of his digs in the third set.
Mercado in the fourth set looked like Mercado in the first set, as he had seven of his team-high 16. While pulling away much of the Lions' attention, Diedrich was able to swing for four kills on five attempts. Lindenwood threatened late with a 4-0 push to bring it to 20-17 in favor of the 'Dons, but Purdue Fort Wayne took the last five points with two kills from Mercado, one from Walker, an ace from Mark Frazier and a block from Carrillo and Walker. Seven different Mastodons had a dig in the fourth set.
AJ Lewis had a match-high 17 kills for Lindenwood.
With the win, Purdue Fort Wayne improves to 16-10 and 7-5 in the MIVA, guaranteeing the most MIVA wins since 2019. Lindenwood falls to 9-11, 6-6. This match had huge playoff implications, as the 'Dons now hold the tiebreaker against Lindenwood and a two-match lead over Lewis with two matches left to play in the regular season. Purdue Fort Wayne will have a chance to clinch a home tournament game with matches at Ohio State on Thursday (April 6) and Ball State on Saturday (April 8).
The seniors were the story of the match through and through. Mercado's 16 kills marked a new career-high, and he added five digs, two aces and a block. Sergio Carrillo registered a double-double with 38 assists and 11 digs and Noah Melendez had dive digs in the backcourt. Mercado, Carrillo and Melendez were honored before the match for the time they spent as Mastodons.
While the seniors honored were certainly in the spotlight, the rising seniors were equally as important in the match. Jon Diedrich registered 14 kills and an ace with an efficient .310 hitting performance and Bryce Walker had eight kills, three aces and three blocks with an even more effective .412 hitting clip.
The Mastodons' pressure from the service line was a large contributing factor to the win. The 'Dons had 10 aces and 11 errors from the line. The 10 aces tied a season-high.
The Mastodons gained control early in the contest, jumping out to an 11-5 lead after a block and kill from Walker. Shortly after, a 5-0 run behind Mercado's service put them up 17-8. This run featured a kill and pair of aces from Mercado. Lindenwood held off four consecutive set points, but Carrillo and Ryan Steponaitis combined for the block to give the 'Dons an early lead. Mercado had a perfect 5-0-5 performance offensively in the opening set.
The second set was full of runs and Lindenwood used a 7-2 run over the last nine points to even the match at a set each.
Purdue Fort Wayne silenced the Lions' offense in set three, holding them to -.032 (9-10-31). After an 11-9 lead for the Lions, the 'Dons finished the set on a 16-7 push. Carrillo had five of his digs in the third set.
Mercado in the fourth set looked like Mercado in the first set, as he had seven of his team-high 16. While pulling away much of the Lions' attention, Diedrich was able to swing for four kills on five attempts. Lindenwood threatened late with a 4-0 push to bring it to 20-17 in favor of the 'Dons, but Purdue Fort Wayne took the last five points with two kills from Mercado, one from Walker, an ace from Mark Frazier and a block from Carrillo and Walker. Seven different Mastodons had a dig in the fourth set.
AJ Lewis had a match-high 17 kills for Lindenwood.
With the win, Purdue Fort Wayne improves to 16-10 and 7-5 in the MIVA, guaranteeing the most MIVA wins since 2019. Lindenwood falls to 9-11, 6-6. This match had huge playoff implications, as the 'Dons now hold the tiebreaker against Lindenwood and a two-match lead over Lewis with two matches left to play in the regular season. Purdue Fort Wayne will have a chance to clinch a home tournament game with matches at Ohio State on Thursday (April 6) and Ball State on Saturday (April 8).
~ Feel the Rumble ~
Team Stats
Linden
Pur-FW
Kills
46
45
Errors
23
16
Attempts
117
100
Hitting %
.197
.290
Points
65
64
Assists
46
42
Aces
8
10
Blocks
11
9
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
16
Aces
2
Blocks
1
Kills
14
Aces
1
Blocks
2
Kills
8
Aces
3
Blocks
3
Kills
5
Aces
3
Blocks
4
Players Mentioned
S
/ Men's VolleyballOH/OPP
/ Men's VolleyballOH/OPP
/ Men's Volleyball
L
/ Men's VolleyballOH/OPP
/ Men's Volleyball
MB
/ Men's VolleyballMB
/ Men's VolleyballPFW vs Maryville (Men's Volleyball)
Tuesday, March 11
PFW vs Thomas More (Mens Volleyball)
Friday, March 07
PFW vs Lindenwood (Mens Volleyball)
Friday, February 28
PFW vs Queens (Mens Volleyball)
Thursday, February 13
