SALISBURY, N.C. — The Catawba College men's volleyball team fended off a sweep and nearly took vote-receiving Belmont Abbey the distance in a 3-1 loss at Goodman Arena on Wednesday night.

TEAM STATS
- The Catawba Indians (2-3) batted .238 to tally their second-best hitting percentage of the year while giving up a .331 clip to Belmont Abbey (2-0), a season high among Catawba opponents
- For the second time this season, both teams recorded double-figure kills in each set — the other occurring at home against Lees-McRae — for a final ledger of 59-45 favoring the Crusaders
- Although The Abbey held a 6-2 advantage in aces, the visitors' registered four more errors by a 24-20 margin, essentially equalizing the point total in service
- Blocking-wise, the squads were relatively even as the Crusaders leapt to make seven stops rivaling the Catawba Indians' 5.5
- The visitors amassed 47 digs, beating the Catawba Indians' kill total (45) — which also happened in the January meeting — while Catawba hit the deck for 36 digs

INDIVIDUAL STATS
- Highlighted by a career-best .349 success rate, Justin Arrowood piloted the attack with 19 kills in addition to one ace, seven digs and two blocks
- John Cordray punished the rock for 12 kills with six digs in the defensive effort
- Anders Christianson tacked on six blasts and four digs with a block
- Kristian Smith totaled 39 assists on the front line with six digs and three blocks, sharing the team lead in the latter category
- John Clinton also slammed three blocks while accounting for the second of Catawba's two aces and killing both of his attack attempts
- Max Adkisson paced the Catawba Indians in the digs department with 11, notching his second double-digit performance of 2026

UP NEXT
Catawba wraps up the week at home against the University of Charleston on Saturday, Feb. 7, at 7 p.m.