There was no postseason hangover for outside attacker Matteo Miselli.
Miselli finished with a match-high 13 kills on a .478 attack percentage as the defending ConfCarolinas champions Belmont Abbey swept Long Island 25-17, 25-16, 25-15 in its season opener on Monday in Belmont, North Carolina.
This was Miselli’s first appearance since having a combined 49 kills in three postseason matches last season.
Miselli in the 2021 ConfCarolinas Tournament had back-to-back 20 kill performances and hit more than .300 to help the Crusaders win their first conference title in program history. The outside attacker also had nine kills on a .316 attack percentage against Penn State in the NCAA Tournament play-in match.
First-year starting setter Matthew Maxwell guided the Crusaders to a .400 attack percentage versus Long Island, including the team hitting a match-best .438 in the final game.
The Crusaders had three players hit more than .400 and have at least five kills in the opener of this two-match series. Along with Miselli, outside attacker Jake Somers had seven kills on a .417 attack percentage and middle attacker Riley Mulkey had five kills and zero errors to hit a perfect 1.000 percent.
Mulkey also had a match-high five blocks, while Miselli added four blocks.
Long Island playing in the program’s inaugural match never led at any point against Belmont Abbey and was limited to a negative-.074 attack percentage.
Outside attacker Jordan Cooper led the first-year program with eight kills and was the only Long Island player with more than three kills.
Despite the loss, middle attacker Eddy Alexandre finished with a match-high three aces.
Belmont Abbey and Long Island will conclude their non-conference series on Tuesday.