FOND DU LAC, Wis. - Marian University men's volleyball (4-8, 3-4 MCVL) defeated Wittenberg in four sets in MCVL action before falling to Cardinal Stritch in a five-set thriller.

Marian and Wittenberg traded the opening pair of sets as the Sabres took the first 25-22 and the Tigers took the second 27-25.  Marian then put together their best offensive performance of the match hitting .345 with 12 kills to two errors to take the third set.

The Tigers looked ready to force a fifth set leading 19-18 in the fourth set, but the Sabres finished the match out strong with a 7-3 run.

Sophomore Jon Smallpage had a match-high 20 kills in the win, while fellow sophomore Cullen Liberski had a match-high 23 digs in the back row.  Sophomore Joey Dittman assisted on 52 Marian kills and had a service ace, seven digs and two solo blocks.

Similarly, Cardinal Stritch traded the first pair of sets with the Sabres to open the final match of the triangular.  This time, however, the Wolves would take the third set forcing the Sabres to win the fourth.

Marian was up to the task as they hit .407 in the must-win set with 15 kills to only four errors.  The Sabres led 16-14 in the set before using an 8-3 run to cruise to the set win.

In the winner-take-all fifth set, Cardinal Stritch scored five consecutive points to take the first big lead of the set at 11-7.  A Marian timeout, however, killed the Wolves' momentum as it sparked a 5-2 run cutting the deficit to 13-12.  Cardinal Stritch closed out the match with a pair of kills, however.

Dittman continued his strong day with 65 assists to go with a pair of assisted blocks and a pair of solo blocks.  Liberski led the way in the back row with a match-high 19 kills, while Smallpage had a match-high 23 kills to lead the offense.  Freshman Jacob DeGroot also put together a strong performance with 10 kills and a .474 hitting percentage, while junior Aaron Wendels chipped in 18 kills.

Marian travels to a triangular hosted by IIT Saturday, Feb. 25 where the Sabres will play IIT and North Central in non-conference action.

--FightBlueFight--