Griffins Five-Game Win Streak Gets Snapped Against No. 2 Carthage

KENOSHA, Wis.—The Fontbonne University men's volleyball team went toe-to-toe with No. 2-ranked Carthage on Friday night, however, the Red Men came away with the straight set (17-25, 20-25, 18-25) win.

The Griffins (13-4; 4-2 MCVL), compiled 34 kills and 21 errors for a .120 hitting percentage on the evening. Defensively, they added 36 digs and eight block assists.

Individually, Stephen Lendy totaled a team-high nine kills, while Mark Klusman had six, and Emir Hadzisalihovic and Braden Woolsey had five kills each.

Kyler van Rossum-O'Connell added 24 assists and 11 digs. He also joined the 1,000 assist club for the Griffins recently, becoming just the third player in program history to reach that mark. Zach Rothstein, meanwhile, added a team-high 12 digs.

Carthage (18-1; 5-1 MCVL), totaled 45 kills and 15 errors for a .294 hitting percentage. Kelvin Rivera led with a match-high 13 kills and .370 hitting percentage. Zach Lillig and Evan Walsh tied with 11 kills apiece. Setter Matt Reinsel contributed a match-high 41 assists, while Reinsel and Walsh tied with 11 digs each.

In the first set, a Griffins service error gave the Red Men a 14-10 lead. They expanded its advantage out to 20-12, though the Griffins cut the deficit down to 22-16 on Sebastian Roca's kill. However, the Red Men finished off the set on Kai Cromwell's kill giving them the 25-17 victory.

After back-and-forth play early, the Griffins and Red Men were all square at 12-12 on Carthage's attack error. Carthage tried to pull away later in the set but an attack error and a service ace from Stephen Lendy made it a 22-20 outing.

Carthage collected the final three points of the set on kills from Rivera, Parker Connolly and Evan Walsh, for the 25-20 win.

In the third, the Red Men came out with a 10-5 lead and stretched it out to 19-9 on a Griffins attack error. After a timeout, the Griffins chipped away and got it down to 23-18. That'd be as close as they'd get, though with Carthage gathering the final two points for the 25-18 set and match win.

The Griffins look to bounce back tomorrow afternoon in another key conference game against North Central. First-serve goes up at 1 p.m.

Fans make sure to stay updated on fontbonnegriffins.com throughout the year for full updates and recaps on the men's volleyball team.