Jonathan McKinney hit five kills, had two blocks and served an ace as MEDDAC defeated the11th Engineer Battalion Team 2 (21-7, 11-21, 15-8) Thursday in the winner’s bracket semifinals of the Commander’s Cup Preseason Volleyball Tournament.

MEDDAC coach Emmanuel Guadalupe said his team got into the heads of the Engineers with key defensive plays, which swung momentum in MEDDAC’s favor.

McKinney and Charles Metcalf each came up with blocks at key points in the first set, shutting down the offensive strategy of the Engineers.

“Those blocks are very helpful,” Guadalupe said. “People will think twice before hitting it again. It’s psychological.”

Though the Engineers took the second set, they had no answer for McKinney in the third set as he hit three kills and served an ace.

“He’s a big help on our team,” Guadalupe said. “He’s our main weapon right now.”

Already leading the first set 10-6, MEDDAC went on an 11-0 run under service of Matthew Wallace.

Ten players on the Engineers’ roster failed to show up to the match, leaving them with just five players against MEDDAC’s six. The final point of the set was awarded to MEDDAC after a rotation penalty in which the Engineers didn’t have a sixth player to rotate into the service position.

“I just told them, ‘We have to play with what we’ve got,’” said Engineers coach Siatuvai Ioane, who led the team with four kills and four aces.

After a sixth man showed up for the Engineers in the second set, they found a rhythm and started with a quick 7-1 run. After taking the second set, the Engineers fell flat again in the third set as they struggled to communicate and committed mental errors.

“Everything was wrong,” Ioane said. “The passes were messed up, not going to the setter. It’s hard when the people who usually pass the ball are not there.”

The Engineers fell into the loser’s bracket and will wait to see who their opponent will be Thursday. The winner of that game will play MEDDAC on the same day for the preseason title.