CHICAGO - Marian University men's volleyball (6-8, 3-4 MCVL) defeated Illinois Tech in straight sets and North Central in five sets at a non-conference triangular.

The first match of the day against the host Scarlet Hawks was all Sabres from start to finish with MU hitting .209.  Marian would use an 11-3 run to take the first set 25-20 and had a strong finish in the second set closing the set on an 8-4 run.

IIT took a 19-18 lead in the third set but once again the Sabres were able to rally and finish the set strong using a 7-3 run to close the match in straight sets.

Sophomore Jon Smallpage led the way with a match-high 12 kills, while fellow sophomore Cullen Liberski had a match-high 11 digs.  Freshman Jacob DeGroot had a big match at the net with a solo block and six block assists.

In another five-set thriller, Marian traded the first two sets with North Central.  The Cardinals then hit .222 in the third set to take a 2-1 lead heading into the fourth set.

The fourth set was a tight affair to open with North Central taking a 10-9 lead prior to a quick 4-0 run that gave Marian their largest lead to that point at 12-10.  Shortly after, the Sabres would use a 7-2 run to extend their lead out to 23-18 and eventually took the fourth set to force a fifth.

Marian jumped out early to a 4-1 lead but the Cardinals quickly came back to take a 7-6 lead.  The Sabres responded, however, and used an 8-2 run to take a sizeable 14-9 lead and a Smallpage kill shortly after clinched the Marian win.

Smallpage finished with another match-high with 22 kills and junior Aaron Wendels chipped in 11 kills.  Sophomore Joey Dittman finished with 44 assists and eight digs.

Marian returns home Wednesday, March 1 for a 7 p.m. first serve against Lakeland.

--FightBlueFight--