SHEBOYGAN, Wis. - Marian men's volleyball (9-12, 5-6 MCVL) recorded more kills than North Central, but the Cardinals were able to take advantage of 30 Sabre attack errors to defeat MU in four sets with set scores of 25-20, 19-25, 25-23, and 25-23.

After an even 10-10 start to the match, North Central went on a 6-1 run to pull ahead at 16-11 using the momentum to cruise to the first set win.  Marian was able to bounce back in the next set hitting .357 with 15 kills to only five errors.  The Sabres were able to use a 10-4 run to build a comfortbale 24-16 advantage with three kills from Aaron Wendels during the run.  Ben Walter then was able to finish off the win with a kill to even the sets at 1-1.

The Cardinals answered the Sabres to open the third set opening with a 9-4 lead drawing an MU timeout.  The Sabres bounced back to score six of the next eight points to cut the deficit to 11-10.  The remainder of the set was a close fought affair eventually leading to a 21-20 Marain lead.  The Cardinals, however, were able to close out the set scoring five of the final seven points and take the 2-1 advantage.

The fourth set was another wire-to-wire finish that eventually led to a 23-21 Marian lead.  North Central was able to put together another strong finish, however, and scored the final four points of the set to close out the match.

Jon Smallpage led the Sabres with a double-double consisting of 16 kills and 10 digs to go with a .357 hitting percentage.  Wendels had a strong performance chipping in 15 kills, while Cullen Liberski had a match-high 13 digs to lead the Sabre back row.

The Sabres initially were scheduled to play Lakeland in a non-conference match later in the evening, but due to the heavy snow the match was cancelled.

Marian closes out the inaugural season with a pair of matches in MCVL action next weekend at home.  MU opens the weekend against Benedictine at 7 p.m. Friday, April 1 and closes out the season against Dominican at 3 p.m. Saturday, April 2.

--FightBlueFight--