ARLINGTON, Va. - Marian University men's volleyball (1-1, 0-0 MCVL) fell to No. 12 Marymount in four sets before bouncing back to defeat Elmira in four sets to open the 2017 season.

In the opening match against No. 12 Marymount, Marian was unable to find a groove offensively dropping the first two sets 25-21 and 25-23, respectively.  The Sabre offense rallied in the third set with a hitting percentage of .400.  The set started with Marymount holding a slim lead at 10-9 before Marian used a 9-1 run to take a commanding 18-11 lead and cruise to the 25-21 set win.

The Saint defense bounced back in the fourth set, however, holding Marian to an even hitting percentage to clinch the match with a 27-25 set win.

Sophomore Jon Smallpage and junior Aaron Wendels led the offense with 11 and 10 kills, respectively, while sophomore Cullen Liberski had a team-high 15 digs in the back row.

Elmira opened match two of the day with a 13-11 lead in the opening set before Marian scored five consecutive points to take a 16-13 lead.  This lead would hold up as the Sabres finished the set with a .281 hitting percentage.

The second set proved to be a back-and-forth affair.  After Marian found themselves up 22-20, Elmira scored three consecutive points drawing a Sabre timeout that proved to be the difference.  Out of the timeout, MU scored four of the final five points in the set capped off by a pair of kills from Wendels.

The third set was a marathon set that saw Marian have their lowest hitting percentage and Elmira was able to take advantage forcing a fourth set with a 33-31 set win.

Looking to continue to use that momentum, Elmira jumped out to an 18-15 lead on Marian before the Sabres closed out the match strong scoring 10 of the final 13 points to clinch their first win of the season.

Sophomore Joey Dittman assisted on 51 of the 58 Sabre kills in the win with Wendels recording a match-high 23 kills.  Liberski played well from the back row once again with a match-high 19 digs.

Marian travels to Owings Mills, Md. tomorrow, Saturday, January 28, for a triangular with Stevenson and Southern Virginia.

--FightBlueFight--