GREENVILLE, Ill. - Spalding University opened its 2026 men's volleyball season with a 3–1 road victory over Greenville at H.J. Long Gymnasium on January 22, finishing with set scores of 25-16, 21-25, 25-21, 25-20.

TURNING POINT
Spalding's balanced attack and consistent defense paved the way to the win, as the Eagles accumulated 46 kills to Greenville's 36 while also outdueling the hosts in digs (55–44), aces (5–3) and blocks (8–7).

Senior Aakash Malvankar led the Spalding offense with 14 kills, and was complemented by double-digit efforts from Tye-Anthony Curtis (11) and Max Atherton (10). Libero Alex Brey anchored the back row with 16 digs, and **Brayden Overberg made a significant impact all around, contributing four of the team's five aces and five blocks while running the offense. Greenville got a strong performance from Carson Hulsey with 10 kills, and John Heater collected a team-high 18 digs, but couldn't sustain enough offense to keep pace with Spalding's depth.

The win improved Spalding to 1-0 on the season.

NEXT FOR SPALDING​​​​​​
Spalding will play again on Friday, January 22nd at 2pm. SU will face Westminster.