Men's volleyball wins first CVC match of 2014

St. Louis- Fontbonne men's volleyball split Continental Volleyball Conference matches this weekend, falling to Lakeland College on Friday 24-26, 18-25, 17-25 and edging Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE) on Saturday afternoon 25-19, 27-29, 25-23 with a dominating 25-12 final set.

Lakeland

Lakeland was a dominating force at the net with a .326 kill percentage sending them back home with the win. Lakeland had four players with attacking percentages at or above 40%. The Griffins, whose attacking percentage declined as the match went on, averaged ..193 at the net.

Aaron Graue led Fontbonne with 10 kills, the second most of the day. Fontbonne's Justin Rujawitz and Marc Viglasky were the only players to achieve solo blocks on the day. Justin Winkelmann totaled 24 assists while Jimmy Stika led the Griffin defense with eight digs.

MSOE

Fans saw more action at the net defensively from the Griffins on Saturday as Fontbonne totaled seven solo blocks and 13 block assists, their most total team blocks and solo blocks of the season. 

Trailing 6-10, the Griffins went on an 8-2 run which included three Griffin blocks to lead MSOE 14-11, holding the lead for the rest of the first set. The Griffins were leading 24-19 during the second set from time was called for a score check by the officials, after which MSOE scored five straight points to tie the game at 24. Back and forth play ensued with the game tied at 27 when MSOE notched two kills for the 29-27 win.

After their comeback victory, MSOE took a 14-11 lead in the third when the Griffins scored five points in a row for a 16-14 lead, never looking back.

Fourth quarter domination by the Griffins resulted in their 25-12 victory. Drew Lowrey recorded a season-high four solo blocks and aided with six other block assists. Rujawitz totaled three solo blocks, his most of the season and Viglasky helped at the net with four block assists as well.

Graue accumulated 22 kills in the win, his season's best. Winkelmann continues aiding Griffin kills with 38 assists over the four sets. Stika added 10 digs for a total of 18 digs on the weekend.

Fontbonne travels to Ohio this weekend for a contest on Friday and Saturday against Mount St. Joseph.