Men's Volleyball Starts Fast But Falls In Four Sets Against North Central

NAPERVILLE, Ill.—The Fontbonne University men's volleyball team started out well against North Central on Saturday, however, the Cardinals took the final three sets (25-22, 19-25, 19-25, 22-25) for the win.

The Griffins (13-5; 4-3 MCVL), totaled 49 kills and 26 errors for a .189 hitting percentage. Brendon Schwartze led with a team-high 13 kills, while Mark Klusman had a double-double with 11 kills and a team-high 11 digs.

Kyler van Rossum-O'Connell dished out 38 assists while Zach Rothstein contributed 10 digs of his own.

North Central (15-7; 7-0 MCVL), were successful on both sides of the net, totaling 54 kills, a .231 hitting percentage, 42 digs and 21 block assists.

Bozhidar Kolev led the Cardinals with a match-high 20 kills and .349 hitting percentage. Nick Lilley also added 15 kills. Setter Michael Trunzo handed out 47 assists and Jake Braceros led them defensively with 10 digs.

In the first set, the Griffins opened with an 11-10 lead on Kyler van Rossum-O'Connell's kill. Later, Anthony Kluzak gave the Cardinals a 13-12 lead, however, a 4-0 run by the Griffins, gave them the 16-13 lead.

The two teams met-up once more at 21-21, though the Griffins regained the lead at 22-21 on a Cardinals attack error. From there, they never relinquished the lead and went on for the 25-22 win on Klusman's kill.

In the second set, it was NCC this time around taking an 11-6 lead on Lilley's kill. Fontbonne eventually cut the deficit down to 20-17 on Emir Hadzisalihovic's kill, though the Cardinals closed out the set on a 5-2 run for the 25-19 win.

It was another fast start for North Central in the third as they opened with a 9-4 lead. A kill from Braden Woolsey narrowed the Cardinals lead down to 16-13. NCC maintained its marginal lead the rest of the way and fended off Fontbonne for the 25-19 win.

In the fourth, it was the Griffins this time around taking a 10-6 lead on a Cardinals attack error and that forced NCC coaching staff to take a timeout.

The Griffins were up 14-13 on Hadzisalihovic's kill, though NC went on a 5-0 run as a block assist from Lilley and Brendan Crawford gave them an 18-14 advantage.

Schwartze's kill put Fontbonne down 24-22 but NCC finished the set and the match off with a 25-22 victory on Lilley's kill.

The Griffins will now head out east to Pennsylvania next week to play seven matches in five days. First-up is Alvernia on Tuesday at 7 p.m.

Fans make sure to stay updated on fontbonnegriffins.com throughout the year for full updates and recaps on the men's volleyball team.