Griffins end historic season with five-set loss at North Central
Naperville, Ill. - Fontbonne men's volleyball's season came to a close Saturday with a five-set loss to North Central College. The Griffins ended with a school-record 17-10 season, nine more wins than the previous best from 2014.
TJ Vorva, Brendon Schwartze and Emir Hadzisalihovic led Fontbonne at the net with Vorva tallying 12 kills with a .417 average while Schwartze totaled 10 kills and Hadzisalihovic's nine came on a .467 average. Vorva also recorded four solo blocks, a career-high for the freshman while Tony Pitaro totalled five blocks from two solos and three assists. Defensively, Jimmy Stika's 15 digs was a team-high, closely followed by setter Jacob Lendy's 14 to go along with his 39 assists, three kills and three solo blocks. Stephen Lendy's defense was also on fire with 12 digs and five total blocks (four assists, one solo).
Fontbonne trailed 10-7 in the fifth set and allowed North Central to gain a six-point lead from three attack errors that they couldn't pull back from.
Fontbonne out-blocked North Central 15-10, however the Cardinals' .280 hitting percentage was key as the Griffins mustered a .187 average, despite a .371 fourth-set percentage.
Season recap to come later.