The Epsilon Zeta Chi Tornadoes beat the Alpha Theta Pi Razorbacks in four sets, facing off in the second round of the society volleyball playoffs.

Alpha struggled to find a foothold, and Z quickly jumped to a 5–1 lead. But a strong spike by Alpha’s Ryan Mumey helped Alpha come back to make it 6–6.  The teams fought back and forth throughout the set until Alpha’s Andrew Netz smartly tapped the ball over an attempted block, starting a run to make it 16–13.

Mumey had an excellent block to give Alpha the 20–16 advantage, but Z’s Josh Aker helped Z to come back to even the score at 21–21. But Alpha was able to pull away and win the set 25–23.

In the second set, Alpha’s Zach Mukenschnabl started the game with a hard spike. Z, however, jumped to a 6–2 lead. Strong serves from Andrew Carter helped Z to extend its lead to 12–5. Z’s Josh Aker had a nice spike to make the score 14–7, and Alpha had a few mistakes down the stretch, allowing Z to go on a run to win 25–14.

In the third set, both teams were erratic and had several mistakes. But Z was finally able to pull ahead 21–16. Z continued its run, and Mark Osorio sealed the third set with a solid spike to win it 25–18.

In the fourth set, both teams increased their work rate, seeing the end in sight. Z and Alpha went back and forth, fighting for a lead.

With the score was tied 19–19, Aker earned three straight points to make the score 22–19, but Alpha was able to come back to even it up at 22–22. Z just edged Alpha, though, and was able to win the set 25–23 and the match 3–1.

“Our communication was a lot better than in our past games,” Josh Aker said. “That was definitely a struggle for us early in the season. We still need to work on our overall organization though.”