Men's Volleyball at Cal Lutheran Preview

ST. LOUIS, Mo.—The (RV) Fontbonne University men's volleyball team will get its 2020 season underway this week when they'll head on out to California for four games starting on Thursday.

(RV) Fontbonne (0-0) at (RV) California Lutheran

When: January 16^th, 2020

Location: Thousand Oaks, Calif.

Time: 9 p.m.

Live Video: HERE

Live Stats: HERE

(RV) Fontbonne (0-0) vs. No. 13 New York University (0-0)

When: January 17^th, 2020

Location: Thousand Oaks, Calif.

Time: 3 p.m.

Live Stats: HERE

(RV) Fontbonne (0-0) vs. (RV) Vassar (0-0)

When: January 18^th, 2020

Location: Thousand Oaks, Calif.

Time: 3 p.m.

Live Stats: HERE

(RV) Fontbonne (0-0) vs. No. 8 UC Santa Cruz (4-2)

When: January 18^th, 2020

Location: Thousand Oaks, Calif.

Time: 6 p.m.

Live Stats: HERE

A Look At The Griffins

• The reigning MCVL Tournament Champions are coming off a 26-3 campaign in 2019 where they advanced all the way to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament.
• This year, the team was picked to win the MCVL and earned receiving votes in the AVCA Preseason Poll for the first time in program history.
• The Griffins will be looking to replace the likes of Cameron Way, Emir Hadzisalihovic, Mark Klusman, TJ Vorva, Josh Farley, and Brendon Schwartze.
• The team does bring back MCVL First Team selectee, Kyler van Rossum-O'Connell. The senior is coming off a career year where he set new career-highs in assists (970), assists per set (10.54), digs (233), and total blocks (37). He also became the first player in program history to eclipse 2,000 career assists.
• Also, back on the defensive side of the net is Zach Rothstein. He earned MCVL Second Team honors in 2019 after posting 279 digs. The senior needs just 72 digs to become the first Griffin player to reach 1,000 career digs.
• Offensively, Braden Woolsey returns after posting 150 kills and a .325 hitting percentage. Defensively, he finished second on the team with 78 blocks.

A Look At The Cal Lutheran Kingsmen

• The Kingsmen already have five games under its belt for the 2020 season. They're coming off a split against Wells where they fell in four sets but bounced back with a sweep over Marymount (Va.).
• On the year, they're averaging 11.26 kills per set, to go along with a .272 hitting percentage.
• Patrick Rowe leads with a team-high 69 kills and a .375 hitting percentage. Justin Dietrich is getting it done on both sides of the net with 40 kills and a team-high 19 blocks.
• Freshman setter Blake Zingerman averages 8.63 assists per set and Rowe once again leads defensively with 35 digs.

A Look At The New York Violets

• The Violets are coming off a 2019 campaign where they finished 13-11 overall.
• Last year, the team averaged 15.56 kills per set and a .271 hitting percentage.
• This season, they bring back all three of its top hitters led by Evan Lindley with 255 kills. Alex Li and Neil Ferraro also return after totaling 246 and 194 kills, respectively.
• The team also returns its setter Matin Bikedeli who finished with 9.29 assists per set.

A Look At The Vassar Brewers

• The Brewers ended the 2019 season 14-15 overall.
• The team averaged 11.42 kills per set and a .224 hitting percentage from a season ago.
• Jefferson Waters looks to build off his team-high 265 kills last season. He also posted a team-high 41 service aces.
• Kevin Ros (263), Jake Kaplan (191), and Ryan Duchemin (146) also return looking to build off its kill numbers.
• They'll be looking to replace setter Daniel Halberg who averaged 6.23 assists per set. Defensively, Ros is the leading returner with 154 digs.

A Look At The UC Santa Cruz Banana Slugs

• The Banana Slugs, who eliminated the Griffins from NCAA Tournament play last year, are off to a 4-2 start this season.
• The team saw its three-game winning streak snapped as they fell in five sets against Wells.
• Through six games, the team is averaging 11.68 kills per set and a .217 hitting percentage.
• Ian Pizzuti leads with a team-high 49 kills, while Aaron Fox is right behind him with 48.
• Setter Sam Wittert hands out 8.05 assists per set and Fox posts a team-high 33 digs.

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).