Men's Volleyball Takes Two From Trine, Lively Sets Single-Game Record In Kills Once More

ST. LOUIS, Mo.—The top two teams in the Midwest Collegiate Volleyball League (MCVL) squared off today and it was the Griffins coming away with two key wins to stay unbeaten in conference play.

Game 1

Final: Fontbonne 3, Trine 1

(25-22, 25-14, 25-27, 25-23)

Set Breakdown

Set 1: It was back-and-forth play throughout the set with a kill from Parker Beale tying it up, 21-21. The Griffins closed out the set on a 4-1 run capped off by Ryan Lively's kill for the 25-22 win.

Fontbonne offense opened strong with a game-high 18 kills, while Trine had its struggles with 10 kills and a .154 hitting percentage.

Set 2: After Trine trimmed the deficit down to 8-6, the Griffins went on an 7-0 run to gain a commanding 15-6 lead. The Griffins dominated from there on cruising to the 25-14 victory.

Set 3: The Griffins were rolling right along in the third set as they were on top 20-17 on a Thunder service error. Later, the Griffins led 23-21 on Braden Woolsey's kill but the Thunder played spoiler going on 3-1 run to lead, 24-23.

After the two teams answered points, a kill from Lively evened the set, 25-25. However, the Thunder got a kill from Parker Beale and Dan Boren to secure the 27-25 win.

Trine played its best set on the day with 17 kills and a game-high .516 hitting percentage.

Set 4: Fontbonne grabbed the lead early in the fourth and at the midway point were on top, 15-12 on Lively's kill. The Thunder regained the lead 18-17 but Fontbonne went on a 4-1 run to lead, 21-18.

The Thunder got to within one (24-23) on Kyle Dixon's kill but a block assist from Braden Woolsey and Kyler van Rossum-O'Connell gave Fontbonne the 25-23 set and match win.

Head-to-Head

• Fontbonne set a new season-high with 64 kills and a .331 hitting percentage. They also set season-highs in assists (59) and digs (66).
• Trine ended the morning with 47 kills and a .250 hitting percentage.

Fontbonne Leaders

• Ryan Lively broke his own single-game record at Fontbonne with a season-high 25 kills and a .367 hitting percentage.
• Braden Woolsey had a career outing with 15 kills and zero errors on 19 swings for a .789 hitting percentage. At the net, Woolsey led with four block assists.
• Nate Paasch added 11 kills and a .310 hitting percentage.
• Kyler van Rossum-O'Connell handed out a season-high 54 assists and set a career-high with 21 digs.
• Zach Rothstein was right behind him with a season-high 20 digs.

Game 2

Final: Fontbonne 3, Trine 0

(25-13, 25-19, 25-19)

Set Breakdown

Set 1: The Griffins dominated the first set from start-to-finish opening with a 15-8 lead on Nate Paasch's service ace. The team closed it on a 10-5 run for the 25-13 win.

Set 2: It was more of the same story in the second set with Fontbonne taking a 17-10 lead. The Thunder got the Griffins lead down to 24-19 but a kill from Cameron Graves ended any type of comeback for the 25-19 victory.

Set 3: The Griffins offense stayed on fire in the third with a comfortable 16-9 lead on Paasch's kill. Fontbonne finished off Trine the rest of the way for the 25-19 set and match win.

Head-to-Head

• Fontbonne finished with 37 kills and a .310 hitting percentage.
• At the net, the team came away with four solo blocks and six block assists.
• Trine had its struggles with 23 kills and 25 attack errors for a negative hitting percentage -.022.

Fontbonne Leaders

• Lively led with 10 kills and a .222 hitting percentage.
• Cameron Graves added nine kills, while Braden Woolsey finished with six kills, a .667 hitting percentage, two solo blocks and one block assist.
• Jacob Hartmann also added six kills, a .667 hitting percentage, and two block assists.
• Kyler van Rossum-O'Connell ended with 33 assists.
• Zach Rothstein added 11 digs. He's up to 1,197 career digs placing him third all-time in NCAA Division III history.

Up Next

The team returns to action on Wednesday for a nonconference outing against Illinois Wesleyan on the road. First-service at 7 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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