Service errors plague both teams in Griffins' loss to Missouri Baptist

St. Louis, Mo. - The Fontbonne men's volleyball team fell tonight to cross-town NAIA rival Missouri Baptist University (MOBAP). Mabee Gymnasium was packed tonight with a men's volleyball record-setting crowd with close to 300 fans in the stands.

After leading 9-8 to start the match, MOBAP scored nine straight points as the Griffins struggled to handle Chris Floods' hard serve, ultimately falling 25-15.

Down 17-14 in the second set, Fontbonne fans rose to their feet when a timely block by Stephen Lendy and Peter Hibbeler got the crowd exicted. A shot time later Jimmy Stika kept a hard MOBAP attack in play that led to Tony Pitaro landing a kill for the Griffins. The three-point rally (20-18) wasn't enough as the Spartans secured a 25-20 second-set win.

Third-set woes set in for the Griffins as Fontbonne found themselves trailing 18-11. Lendy got the team rolling with a kill as brother Jacob Lendy served four straight points. Hibbeler stuffed MOBAP with a big solo block in the middle, getting fans excited once again as Fontbonne now only trailed by two points (18-16). MOBAP scored three points to secure a 24-19 advantage when Fontbonne tried to fight back landing three straight points themselves. Missouri Baptist prevailed with the 25-22 win. 

Service errors haunted both teams as 28 total were committed on the evening with the Griffins totaling 13. 

Fontbonne have five home games in a row coming up, getting back into MCVL action this Friday as the Griffins host Loras College at 7pm.

* Hibbeler started the week ranked seventh among fellow NCAA Division III opponents in blocks per set. The junior recorded 21 solo blocks and 32 block assists in his previous 46 sets.

*Senior Aaron Graue recorded his 900th career kill tonight, placing him second in Fontbonne men's volleyball record books.