Men's Volleyball Opens 2021 Slate With Two Wins Over Olivet

OLIVET, Mich.—The Fontbonne University men's volleyball team opened up its 2021 conference slate with two wins on the road against Olivet.

Game One

Final: Fontbonne 3, Olivet 0 (25-16, 25-16, 25-19)

Game Breakdown

Set 1: After Olivet opened with a 5-3 lead, the two teams went back-and-forth up until a kill from Cameron Graves gave Fontbonne the 14-13 lead. It was all Griffins the rest of the way with the team closing out on a 9-3 run en route to the 25-16 win.

Fontbonne had a strong opening set with a game-high 14 kills and .281 hitting percentage. Olivet, meanwhile, struggled with seven kills and five errors for a .077 hitting percentage.

Set 2: The Griffins started out faster in the second set with a solo block from Braden Woolsey giving Fontbonne a 9-4 lead. The offense continued rolling right along expanding its lead out to 14-7 on a Comets attack error.

Fontbonne dominated the rest of the set as they went on for the 25-16 win capped off by newcomer Ryan Lively's kill.

The Griffins totaled nine kills on 19 attempts in the second. Olivet never found its rhythm with four kills and 10 errors for a negative -.231 hitting percentage.

Set 3: The Griffins wasted no time jumping ahead in the third on a 13-7 advantage thanks to Lively's kill. Olivet tried to get back into the match with a Fontbonne attack error narrowing its deficit down to 21-16. However, the Griffins offense proved to be too much with Lee Kreutzman finishing the set and the match off with a kill for the 25-19 win.

Team Comparison

• Fontbonne finished with 35 kills and a .263 hitting percentage.
• Defensively, they came away with 30 digs and dominated at the net with 10 block assists.
• Olivet ended the morning with a negative hitting percentage of -.026.

Fontbonne Notables

• Newcomer Ryan Lively finished with a game-high 10 kills.
• Nate Paasch picked up right where he left off a season ago with seven kills and a game-high .462 hitting percentage.
• Kyler van Rossum-O'Connell handed out a game-high 31 assists.
• Defensively, Zach Rothstein ended with a game-high eight digs.

Game Two

Final: Fontbonne 3, Olivet 1 (22-25, 25-18, 25-13, 25-14)

Game Breakdown

Set 1: The Comets opened game two with a strong start taking a 16-10 lead on a Fontbonne attack error and that forced the Griffins to take a timeout.

The Griffins answered with a 5-0 run and eventually tied it up at 21-21 on Braden Woolsey's kill. However, the Comets closed out the set on a 4-1 run to win the opener, 25-22.

Fontbonne totaled 12 kills in the first set, while Olivet played its best set of the day having a game-high 17 kills and a .387 hitting percentage.

Set 2: After the Comets tied it at 11-11, the Griffins rattled off a quick 6-1 run with Cameron Graves' kill giving the Griffins a 17-12 lead. The team never looked back from there and earned a bounce back set win, 25-18.

Set 3: The Griffins dominated the third taking a commanding 15-7 lead on Woolsey's service ace. They finished off the set on a 10-6 run with Paasch securing the service ace for the 25-13 win.

Fontbonne had a hitting percentage of .364 for the second straight set, while after totaling 17 kills in the first, the Comets were limited to eight kills and nine errors in the third for a negative -.038 hitting percentage.

Set 4: Fontbonne put the Comets away early taking a 15-3 lead and cruised from there going on for the 25-14 set and match win.

Team Comparison

• Fontbonne finished with 47 kills and a .327 hitting percentage.
• Olivet ended with 45 kills and a .193 hitting percentage.
• The Griffins defense stood out once more with 39 digs and 12 block assists.

Fontbonne Notables

• Ryan Lively led with a game and season-high 17 kills and a .394 hitting percentage.
• Nate Paasch rounded with 10 kills.
• Kyler van Rossum-O'Connell handed out a game-high 42 assists.
• Zach Rothstein finished up with a game-high 14 digs.

Olivet Notables

• Deontay Thomas posted a team-high 13 kills. Kai Hartman added 12.

Up Next:

The Griffins are home on Wednesday night when they'll take on Illinois Wesleyan. First-service at 6 p.m. There will be NO SPECTATORS allowed at this time during the men's volleyball season at home.

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

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