OWINGS MILLS, Md. - Marian University men's volleyball (1-3, 0-0 MCVL) fell to No. 12 Stevenson and Southern Virginia in four sets to close out their opening weekend of the season.

In the opening match against No. 12 Stevenson, Marian couldn't find an offensive rhythm early as they fell 25-13 and 25-20 in the opening sets.  The Sabres bounced back in the third set, however, to force a fourth.

The Sabres jumped out early scoring 11 of the first 14 points in the match highlighted by a pair of service aces from sophomore Ben Walter.  Stevenson responded, however, chipping away at the lead and eventually cutting their deficit down to two at 21-19.  Marian was then able to finish strong as they scored four of the final six points in the set to close out the set win.

The Mustangs responded in the fourth set and took an early sizeable lead as they were able to cruise to the set and match win.

Junior Aaron Wendels led the way with 14 kills, seven digs, and two block assists.  From the back row, sophomore Cullen Liberski had a match-high 19 digs.

Marian started the second match of the day against Southern Virginia strong with an opening set win.

After a 12-12 start the Sabres were able to take the first sizeable lead of the game with an 8-4 run.  Southern Virginia was able to chip away at the lead but a kill from sophomore Jon Sattersten sealed the win for MU.

The Sabres then got out to slow starts to open the second and third set and could never recover as they dropped both sets.  In the fourth set, however, Marian would score the first four points before they were locked into a seesaw battle.  The Sabres were able to take a small 13-11 lead before Southern Virginia closed out the match using a 14-5 run.

Satersten led the Marian attack with a team-high 11 kills, his first double-digit kill performance of the season, while Wendels chipped in with 10 kills.  

Sophomore Joey Dittman finished the day with 66 assists between the pair of matches.

Marian is next in action Friday, Feb. 3 traveling to Fontbonne for a 7 p.m. first serve.

--FightBlueFight--