AURORA, Ill. - Marian University men's volleyball (3-8, 2-2 NACC) fell to Aurora in straight sets in NACC action before defeating Loras in five sets.

In the opener of the day, the Sabre defense had a tough time stopping Aurora as the Spartans defeated the Sabres with set scores of 25-19, 27-25, and 25-18.  Senior Jon Smallpage had a strong match recording a match-high 11 kills off of a .212 hitting percentage.  He along with freshman Liam Skinner each had a hand in three blocks as well.  On the defensive end, senior Cullen Liberski had a match-high 12 digs.

The Sabres were then locked in a thriller with Loras with Marian defeating Loras with set scores of 26=24, 17-25, 22-25, 25-22, and 19-17.  Both offenses had strong matches with the Sabres recording a hitting percentage better than .300 in three of the five sets.  Marian finished with a .256 hitting percentage and 57 kills.

Smallpage once again paced Marian with 23 kills off of a .250 hitting percentage, while junior Jacob DeGroot hit .375 with eight kills.  Skinner and Smallpage once again had strong games at the net with each having a hand in six blocks. 

From the back row, senior Cullen Liberski had a match-high 19 digs, while fellow senior Joey Dittman had a double-double with 45 assists and 10 digs.

Marian returns home to take on Lakeland Wednesday, February 20 at 7 p.m. in NACC action.