Roundup: Men's lacrosse falls to Greensboro College in season opener

Feb. 13—GREENSBORO — The Knights men's lacrosse team opened up their 2023 regular season campaign against the Greensboro College Pride in the NCAA Division III. After a venue cancellation at the last minute moved Moore County Madness to Guilford County, Greensboro was the home site for the start of the Knights' 2023 season opener. A physical battle throughout, the Knights fell to the Pride 16-4.

Two minutes into the contest and the Knights were on the board. Queens transfer Johnny Rodgers III (Raleigh, N.C.) netted his first career goal off an assist from senior attackman and Lincoln Memorial transfer Sean Greiner (Marietta, Ga.). It took Greensboro until the 10:18 mark in the first to tie it up. Costly mistakes by the Knights gave the Pride a healthy advantage as they found themselves three men down a few moments later.

Greensboro doubled up with two more goals before the Knights tallied their second. A skip pass from Wesley Ilg (Fuquay-Varina, N.C.) to Dylan Sawyer (Lexington, S.C.) found the back of the net. Another back-and-forth battle ensued for both teams, as the Knights found their third goal off the stick of Greiner from senior Brandon Russell (Raleigh, N.C.) with only 10 seconds left on the clock, ending the first period with Greensboro up 4-3.

The pride pushed for a couple in the second quarter, but it was only two, thanks to junior goalie Zachary Lomabardi (Cary, N.C.), who showcased incredible reflexes to deny Pride shots on multiple occasions. Lombardi served as a wall in the first three quarters, as he recorded 14 saves in the loss. A dual-performance on the defensive end from senior defender Tay'Quan Bryan (New Bern, N.C.) led the team with five caused turnovers.

With the halftime score at 6-3 in favor of Greensboro as the Knights were able to tally their fourth and final goal from Point transfer Conan Hochburger (Marietta, Ga.), off a great feed from Sawyer. The Knights' face-off unit had an outstanding performance in the match, as Jonah Rossi (Pinehurst, N.C.) and Fernando Reyes (North Las Vegas, Nev.) combined for a 59% face-off percentage.

St. Andrews faces off again on Feb. 18 at 11 a.m. in West Palm Beach, Fla. against the No. 6 Keiser Seahawks.

Men's volleyball splits doubleheader at Reinhardt University

The Knights men's volleyball team continued their four game road trip Saturday afternoon with a doubleheader contest against Appalachian Athletic Conference opponent, the Reinhardt Eagles, and the Kentucky State Thorobreds. The Knights ended up falling to the Reinhardt Eagles by a 3-0 final, although the Knights were outscored by only 13 cumulatively, the Eagles proved to be too dominant on the day. In their second match, the Knights found their stride and took all three sets against the Thorobreds in order to secure a 1-1 record on the day, and improve to 5-3 overall on the season.

Although it will go down as a sweep for the Reinhardt Eagles over the Knights, the game was a close contest throughout the entirety of its three sets. The Eagles were able to land 36 of 97 attacking opportunities, compared to the Knights' 29 of 92 attacking chances. Hazem Aldeghafar (Cairo, Egypt) led the way in attacks for the Knights with 10 on 27 total attempts, while Alex Vazquez-Sanchez (Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico) followed up with an impressive seven kills, as well.

The Knights played sound defense, as well, against a very formidable attacking presence in the AAC. Leading the way in digs was Leonardo Cirqueira (Brasilia, Brazil), who recorded a game-high 15 digs. Jamere Jackson (Chicago, Ill.) and Vazquez-Sanchez also contributed great court defense with six digs apiece.

Displaying great net defense was Francisco Figueroa (Fajardo, Puerto Rico), who led the team with three block assists to help deter the attacking attempts from the Eagles. Aldeghafar recorded two block assists in the contest, as well.

The second match against the Kentucky State Thorobreds is where the Knights really began finding their offensive stride on the day. As a collective unit, the Knights were able to land 44 of 106 attack attempts, compared to the 27 of 94 attempts from the Thorobreds. The Knights were also able to outclass the Thorobreds in a number of other categories, such as digs 42 to 37, aces 6 to 1, and blocks 4 to 2.

Leading the way for the Knights in attacks was Aldeghafar, who finished with a game-high 11 total kills, while Kenton Bedford (Midlothian, Va.) pitched in with nine kills, and Juan Silva (Elizabeth, N.J.) and Vazquez-Sanchez with seven apiece, as well.

Dakota Hotaling (Center Moriches, N.Y.) was up to his usual masterclass by recording an astounding 40 assists in the contest, as he was consistently able to set his teammates up in great attacking positions. Cirqueira had four assists, while also leading the team in digs with 21.

The Knights end the road trip with a record of 2-2 and will look back on their time as great game experience, in preparation for a full AAC Conference schedule in the coming weeks. Up first will be a big test in (RV) Warner University, when they come to Harris Court on Feb. 17 at 7 p.m.

Beach volleyball earns first win of season

The Knights continued their lengthy early season road schedule with two games on Saturday against Huntingdon College and LaGrange College in Cleveland, Ga. on the campus of Truett-McConnell. The Knights were met with a tough opponent in game one in Huntingdon College, who were able to take all five sets against the Knights in this one. Although the scoreline reads 5-0, the Knights played a closely contested and competitive series, as four of the five sets went into a final third set in order to determine a winner.

The second match of the day was against LaGrange College, in which the Knights were able to truly find their form and dominate the sand. The Knights were able to win the first three sets, all by a sweep, before LaGrange had forfeited to participate in the final two sets.

The Knights finish the Truett-McConnell road trip with a 1-3 record and will be pleased to come away with a win and some early season game environments before continuing their Sun Conference schedule before long.