RENO, Nev. -- Belmont Abbey wrapped up its trip to The Silver Showcase with a split of two matches, defeating Fort Valley State 3-1 (25-21, 25-16, 19-25, 25-23) in the afternoon before falling to No. 1-ranked Long Beach State 3-0 (25-17, 25-14, 25-20) in the final game of the day.

The Crusaders sit at 2-4 overall, while the Wildcats fall to 2-6. The Beach remains undefeated at 8-0.

THE OPENER

• Zach Puentas registered  a season-high 15 kills with a .281 hitting percentage (15k-6e-32a). He tallied a career-best eight blocks, three solo.
• Jibriel Elhaddad posted nine kills and seven blocks (one solo).
• Joseph Morris dished out 34 assists, two blocks and five digs.
• Ryan Charles was the defensive leader with seven digs.
• As a team, The Abbey hit .206 and had five service aces.

THE NIGHTCAP

• Puentas topped the team again with seven kills, followed by Matthew Staskunas with five.
• Morris led in both assists with 16 and digs with five.
• The Beach hit .507 as a team (41k-7e-67a), while limiting the Crusaders to .107 (23k-18e-70a).

THE OPENER

• Belmont Abbey begins a four-match homestand next Saturday.
• The Crusaders host Emmanuel in a 2 p.m. contest that will serve as the Conference Carolinas opener.