WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Carolina University Men's Volleyball hosted an AAC pod this past weekend, February 27–28, welcoming Bluefield, St. Thomas (FL), Webber International (FL), and Warner (FL) to Williams Gymnasium. The Bruins competed in three matches over two days, facing a strong slate of conference competition as the young squad continues to develop under Head Coach Jake Boldog.
Carolina opened the pod on Friday morning against St. Thomas before competing in two matches on Saturday against Webber International and Warner.
Match One: St. Thomas (FL) 3, Carolina 0
February 27 | Williams Gymnasium
The Bruins faced a nationally competitive St. Thomas squad, falling in straight sets (17-25, 13-25, 10-25).
Despite the final score, Carolina saw strong individual performances. Fritz Hall led the Bruins with 9 kills, while Keona Puchalski added 4 kills and a .375 hitting percentage. Kai Jamerson dished out 10 assists in the contest.
As a team, Carolina recorded 18 kills on 59 total attacks with 14 errors (.068 hitting percentage). Defensively, the Bruins totaled 11 digs and 1 total block in the match.
Match Two: Webber International (FL) 3, Carolina 0
February 28 | Williams Gymnasium
Carolina returned to action Saturday morning, dropping a three-set match to Webber International (15-25, 15-25, 18-25).
Sam Gruver paced the Bruins with 6 kills, while Keona Puchalski contributed 5 kills and hit .364. Kai Jamerson again directed the offense with 10 assists.
The Bruins finished with 20 kills on 67 attacks (.030 hitting percentage) and added 11 digs and 8 total blocks as a team.
Match Three: Warner (FL) 3, Carolina 0
February 28 | Williams Gymnasium
In their final match of the pod, the Bruins battled Warner but came up short in straight sets (16-25, 16-25, 19-25).
Sam Gruver again led Carolina offensively with 6 kills, while Hall added 4 kills and 1 block. Kai Jamerson recorded 11 assists in the match.
Carolina totaled 16 kills on 76 attempts (.013 hitting percentage) while registering 18 digs and 2 blocks defensively.
Coach's Comments
Head Coach Jake Boldog reflected on the weekend and the growth of his young squad:
"This weekend gave us a clear picture of where we are and where we need to go. Competing against experienced conference teams like St. Thomas, Webber, and Warner showed us the level required to win consistently in this league. I'm proud of the way our guys continued to compete and stay engaged through every set. We're building something, and weekends like this are part of that process. We'll take what we learned and prepare to respond this week."
Carolina will be back in action on Thursday, March 5, as the Bruins host Newberry at 6:00 p.m. in Williams Gymnasium.
