Klusman's 14-Kill Performance Leads Griffins Past Marian

FOND du Lac, Wis.—The Fontbonne University men's volleyball team picked up its third straight win after a sweep (26-24, 25-18, 25-22) over Marian on Friday night.

The Griffins (3-0), posted 35 kills, a .274 hitting percentage, 39 digs, and eight block assists. Mark Klusman led with a team-high 14 kills and .310 hitting percentage. Josh Farley added seven kills, while Braden Woolsey contributed six and a .750 hitting percentage.

Kyler van Rossum-O'Connell handed out 30 assists and Zach Rothstein led them defensively with 10 digs.

The Sabres (0-6), ended the night with 31 kills and they were led by Jon Smallpage's match-high 18 kills. Setter Joey Dittman totaled 28 assists and Cullen Liberski led the group defensively with seven digs.

In the first set, the Griffins opened with a 12-10 lead on Klusman's kill. The team stretched its lead out to 18-14, but a 4-0 run by the Sabres evened it up at 18-18 on a Fontbonne attack error.

The two teams went-back-and-forth the rest of the way, though an attack error from Marian tied it up at 24-24. From there, the Griffins finished off the home team on an attack error and a kill from Brendon Schwartze to give Fontbonne the 26-24 win.

In the second set, after the Sabres opened with an early lead, the Griffins got into a rhythm and gained a 11-9 lead on Kyler van Rossum-O'Connell's kill.

Marian stayed within striking distance at 17-16 on a Jacob Journey service ace, however, the Griffins closed out the set on an 8-2 run for the 25-18 set win.

Fontbonne displayed a dominant performance in the second with a match-high 13 kills and .393 hitting percentage. After totaling 13 kills in the first set, the Sabres were limited to eight kills and seven errors for a mere .036 hitting percentage.

In the third, the Griffins grabbed a 10-6 advantage on Farley's kill. As the set continued, the Griffins maintained its lead and were on top 24-19 on consecutive kills from Schwartze and Klusman. However, back-to-back points from Marin forced the Griffins to take a timeout.

Out of the break, Marian cut the deficit down to 24-22 on a ball handling error, but a kill from Klusman sealed the win for Fontbone with the 25-22 victory.

The team returns to action tomorrow against Maranatha Baptist. First-service at 5 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.

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