FOND DU LAC, Wis. - Marian University men's volleyball (9-9, 5-4 MCVL) opened a three-match stretch against nationally ranked opponent with a four-set loss to No. 8 Stevenson with set finals of 25-18, 27-29, 25-23, and 25-21.

Marian was able to hang with Stevenson in the opening set to a 17-15 SU lead before the Mustangs were able to close the match out with an 8-3 run.  The Sabres bounced back in the second set hitting .343 and holding Stevenson to a match-low .286 hitting percentage.  MU opened the set strong with an 18-14 lead before a Stevenson timeout changed the momentum and led the Mustangs to a 9-3 run.  The two teams then were knotted at 24-24 before Marian needed to fight off three set points and close out the set with the final three points for the hard fought win.

The third set was fairly tight with Stevenson holding a steady lead out to a 23-18 score before Marian attempted a late come back with a quick 5-1 run.  The Mustangs were able to hold off the momentum shift, however, and take the set by the minimum of two points.  Stevenson then finished off the match strong using an 11-5 run at the end of the fourth set to clinch the win.

Stevenson came into the match ranked seventh in the nation for hitting percentage and showed their efficiency hitting .398 with the Mustangs hitting over .400 in three of the four sets.

Aaron Wendles had a match-high 19 kills to lead the Sabres with Jon Smallpage right behind him with 18 kills and a .379 hitting percentage.  Jon Sattersten had an efficient game with nine kills on 13 attacks for a .692 hitting percentage, while Cullen Liberski was the only player able to reach double-digit digs between both teams with 16.

Marian remains at Sadoff and will play a pair of nationally ranked teams in a return to MCVL action opening against Carthage Friday, March 18 at 2 p.m.

--FightBlueFight--