ST. LOUIS - Marian men's volleyball (9-7, 5-3 MCVL) fell in their first five-set match of the season to Fontbonne with final set scores of 25-16, 21-25, 25-27, 26-24, and 15-13.

After a rough first set that saw Fontbonne pull out to a 12-4 lead and eventually cruise to a 25-16 set win, the Sabres bounced back in the second set hitting .382 with 16 kills to only three errors.  The Griffins had an early 5-4 lead but a quick 5-0 run is all the Sabres needed as they wouldn't give up the lead the remainder of the set.

The next three sets would be decided by the minimum of two points with two of the sets going over the minimum 25 points required for a set win.  Marian would take the crucial third set hitting .288 with a match-high 19 kills for the 2-1 lead.

Looking to close out the match, Marian chipped away and took a late 23-19 only to have Fontbonne battle back and force a fifth set with a 7-1 run.  The Griffins were then able to take advantage of the momentum they gained from the fourth set using a 4-0 run to give them a 12-9 lead, the largest lead of the set.  A pair of kills from Ben Walter started the Sabre come back, but Fontbonne would close out the match with a 3-2 run for the come from behind win.

Jon Smallpage had a match-high 21 kills with a .318 hitting percentage, while Aaron Wendels chipped in 16 kills.  Cullen Liberski was strong in the back row with a match-high 25 digs with Walter adding double-digit digs with 13.  Joey Dittman assisted 49 of the 64 MU kills in the loss.

Marian looks to bounce back with a 7 p.m. match at Greenville tomorrow, Saturday, March 12.

--FightBlueFight--