Griffins Stay Unbeaten After Win Over Sabercats

WATERTOWN, Wis.—The Fontbonne University men's volleyball team improved to 4-0 on Saturday after a four set (25-12, 25-18, 21-25, 25-13) win over Maranatha Baptist.

The Griffins (4-0), posted a season-high 53 kills and 44 digs in the winner. Individually, Braden Woolsey led with a season-high 10 kills and one error for a .643 hitting percentage.

Kyler van Rossum-O'Connell registered his first double-double on the year with a season-high 42 assists and 11 digs.

The Sabercats (0-7), conclude with 27 kills and a .117 hitting percentage. Joel Smith led them offensively with seven kills. Setter Taylor Dafoe dished out 20 assists, while Derek Wallis led them on the defensive side of the net with nine digs.

In the first set, the Griffins opened with a commanding 11-5 lead on a kill from Josh Farley. The team stretched it out to 21-11 on Kyler van Rossum-O'Connell's kill and they went on for the 25-12 opening set win.

Fontbonne posted a match-high 16 kills and a .560 hitting percentage in the first set, while the Sabercats were held to a match-low five kills.

In the second set, it was back-and-forth early, but the Griffins grabbed a 12-8 advantage on another Kyler van Rossum-O'Connell kill. The Sabercats trimmed the deficit down to 23-17 on a Fontbonne attack error, but the Griffins were able to close out the set for the 25-18 win.

In the third, the Griffins owned a 17-15 lead on Jacob Hartmann's kill. Then, MBU went on a 9-1 run to take a 24-18 advantage on a bad set by Fontbonne.

The Griffins got consecutive kills from Emir Hadzisalihovic and a service ace from Tony Brooks, but the Sabercats finished off the set on a kill from Joel Smith to keep the match going after the 25-21 victory.

In the fourth, the Griffins came out on fire as they took a 13-4 lead on Woolsey's kill. MBU tried to get back into it going on a 7-1 run to get to within three (14-11), however Fontbonne closed out on a rally of its own.

The team answered with an 11-2 run and Mark Klusman capped it off with consecutive service aces for the 25-13 set and match win.

The Griffins return to the court next weekend at the Purple Raider Rumble in Ohio when they'll play four games in two days. On Friday, they'll take on Thiel and Thomas More, followed by Mount Union and Penn St.-Altoona on Saturday.

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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