Men's Volleyball vs. No. 8 North Central and No. 1 Carthage Preview

ST. LOUIS, Mo.—The Fontbonne University men's volleyball team looks for two key wins this weekend when they'll take on No. 8-ranked North Central on Friday night, followed by a showdown against No. 1 Carthage on Saturday.

#8 North Central (12-7; 2-0 MCVL) at Fontbonne (16-1; 1-1 MCVL)

When: March 15^th, 2019

Where: DSAC

Time: 7 p.m.

Live Video: HERE

Live Stats: HERE

# 1 Carthage (15-1; 2-0 MCVL) at Fontbonne (16-1; 1-1 MCVL)

When: March, 16^th, 2019

Where: DSAC

Time: 1 p.m.

Live Video: HERE

Live Stats: HERE

A Look At The Griffins

• The Griffins are coming off a 3-0 stint this past week in New York.
• The team totaled 125 kills, a .271 hitting percentage, 20 service aces, and 13.50 digs per set. They also came away with 26.0 blocks.
• Kyler van Rossum-O'Connell became the all-time leader in assists as he's now up to 1848 in his career and counting.
• On the year, the Griffins rank first nationally in digs per set (12.69), first in opponent hitting percentage (.084), sixth in assists per set (11.75), 11^th in hitting percentage (.281) and 16^th in blocks per set (2.08).
• Individually, Mark Klusman leads with 136 kills. He's also contributed 23 service aces, 86 digs, and 14 blocks.
• Emir Hadzisalihovic has 110 kills to his name and ranks second nationally with a .487 hitting percentage. He also leads Fontbonne with 46 blocks.
• Josh Farley, meanwhile, is third on the team with 100 kills.
• Kyler van Rossum-O'Connell leads with 515 assists and ranks fourth nationally at 10.34 per set.
• Defensively, Zach Rothstein is on top with 155 digs.

A Look At The North Central Cardinals

• North Central will hit the floor for the first time since Mar. 2^nd, when they came away with a four-set (25-19, 19-25, 25-16, 25-19) win over Mount St. Joseph.
• On the year, they've totaled 753 kills and a .217 hitting percentage.
• Individually, Bozhidar Kolev owns a team-high 174 kills and 26 service aces.
• Jacob Zemba has 160 kills and a .253 hitting percentage, while Nick Lilley contributed 108 kills.
• Setter Michael Trunzo ranks 29^th overall with 8.79 assists per set, while Samuel Kharasch has compiled 140 digs.

A Look At The Carthage Red Men

• The Red Men take on Grenville on Friday night prior to its contest against Fontbonne.
• The team won its eighth straight last Wednesday after defeating Cardinal Stritch in five sets (22-25, 25-21, 19-25, 25-17, 16-14).
• On the year, Carthage ranks first in assists per set (12.71), first in kills per set (13.43), eighth in hitting percentage (.286), 20^th in blocks per set (2.02), and 33^rd in opponent hitting percentage (.167).
• Individually, the duo of Evan Walsh (3.54) and Matt Slivinski (3.53) rank in the top-20 nationally in kills per set.
• Overall, Slivinski has 173 kills and a .326 hitting percentage, while Walsh totaled 170 thus far and a .257 hitting percentage.
• Setter Matt Reinsel ranks first overall with 12.00 assists per set, while Kai Cromwell (113) is one of three players with at least 110 digs overall.

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

Make sure to follow us on all our social media accounts: Twitter (@FBUGriffins), Instagram (@fbugriffins) and Facebook (/FontbonneUGriffins).