NAPERVILLE, Ill. - Marian men's volleyball (9-6, 5-2 MCVL) split a road triangular at North Central but won the game that mattered most in a four set conference win against the Cardinals.

The first set was a back-and-forth affair from start the finish that saw North Central score the final three points of the set with a 30-28 final.

Marian bounced back nicely following the first set loss and won the next three sets.  The Sabres slowly chipped ahead of North Central in the second set and eventually pulled away hitting .323 in a 25-20 win.  MU then used an 11-2 run in the middle of third set for a 25-15 set win, and put the match away with a 25-23 win in set four.  MU held a 21-15 lead in what proved to be the final set and had to hold off a late Cardinal comeback, but still managed a .355 hitting percentage in the set.

Joey Dittman assisted on 50 Sabre kills with Jon Smallpage leading the way with a match-high 18.  Jon Sattersten and Aaron Wendels also had double-digit kills with 14 and 13, respectively.  Wendels also had a double-double with 10 digs, and Cullen Liberski also dug up 10 balls in the back row.

The second match was highly contested but Marian would be swept by Cardinal Stritch in straight sets with scores of 27-25, 25-21, and 25-22.  The Wolves hit .394 in the match and had five solo blocks in the win.  Ben Walter led the Sabre attack with a .389 hitting percentage and nine kills.

Marian returns to action at Fontbonne Friday, March 11 at 7 p.m. followed by another road match at Greenville Saturday, March 12 with a 7 p.m. first serve as well.

--FightBlueFight--