Men's Volleyball Opens Season With Wins Over North Park And Illinois Wesleyan
SANTA CRUZ, Calif.—The Fontbonne University men’s volleyball team opened its 2023 season 2-0 after knocking off both North Park and Illinois Wesleyan at the UC Santa Cruz Slug Slam.
SANTA CRUZ, Calif.—The Fontbonne University men's volleyball team opened its 2023 season 2-0 after knocking off both North Park and Illinois Wesleyan at the UC Santa Cruz Slug Slam.
Match One
Fontbonne 3, North Park 1 (25-23, 18-25, 25-18, 25-16)
Set Notes
Set 1: It was back-and-forth action early in the first, but the Vikings grabbed an 18-15 advantage over the Griffins.
They maintained its lead up until Fontbonne tied it 22-22 on Joseph Huster's kill. After a timeout by North Park, the Griffins closed out the set on a 3-0 run for the win.
Fontbonne had 12 kills and a .222 hitting percentage in the first with Cameron Graves leading with five kills. Ryan Lively and Huster added three each.
Set 2: The Vikings put the Griffins in an early 12-7 hole. The Griffins were unable to mount a comeback this time around with North Park going on for the 25-18 win.
The Griffins were limited to nine kills and a .103 hitting percentage in the set. North Park totaled 11 kills on 27 swings for a .222 hitting percentage.
Set 3: The Griffins bounced back in the third taking a commanding 10-3 lead on a block assist from Demitrius Allen and Joseph Huster.
Fontbonne dominated the rest of the set for the 25-18 victory. The Griffins had its best set offensively in the game with 13 kills on 25 swings for a match-high .440 hitting percentage.
Graves led with four kills, while Brooks added three on four swings. Defensively, the Griffins were busy at the net with five total blocks.
Set 4: Fontbonne carried that momentum into the fourth owning a 12-3 lead on a block assist from Huster and Graves. There was no looking back from there as they went on for the 25-16 set and match win.
Game Stats
- Fontbonne totaled 44 kills and a .243 hitting percentage
- North Park had 36 kills and a .186 hitting percentage.
- Fontbonne totaled 37 digs.
- The Griffins had 21 block assists and 11.5 total blocks.
Top Griffins
Cameron Graves: 14 kills and a .300 hitting percentage
Tony Brooks: 8 kills, .312 hitting percentage, 4 block assists
Joseph Huster: 8 kills, .357 hitting percentage, 5 block assists
Ryan Lively: 8 kills
Alex Gantt: Career-high 22 assists
Demitrius Allen: 18 assists
Ryan Taylor 9 digs
Match Two
Fontbonne def. Illinois Wesleyan 3-2 (25-19, 26-28, 25-20, 14-25, 15-11)
Set Notes
Set 1: In the first set, the Griffins took a 15-9 lead on a kill from Brooks. They never relinquished its lead the rest of the way going on for the 25-19 win.
Fontbonne totaled 11 kills and a .208 hitting percentage in the first. Lively was busy with five kills on 11 swings.
Set 2: The Titans held small lead over the Griffins, but Fontbonne eventually took a 24-22 lead on a kill from Huster forcing IWU to take a timeout.
Out of the break, though the Titans went on a 3-0 run forcing Fontbonne to take a timeout of its own. After the two teams went point-for-point, the Titans won the set on kills from Jace Milka and Michael Eastman for the 28-26 victory.
Fontbonne had 12 kills and a .152 hitting percentage in the second, while the Titans had its best set of the evening with 14 kills on 34 attempts for a .235 hitting percentage.
Set 3: After the two teams met-up at 10-10, the Griffins went on a 5-0 run with Allen's kill giving them some breathing room. The Titans made it interesting late narrowing the deficit to 22-20, but Fontbonne closed out on a 3-0 run for the win.
Both teams had its struggles offensively in the third with Fontbonne having eight kills and seven errors for a .037 hitting percentage. IWU had five kills and five errors for a .000 hitting percentage.
Set 4: It was a forgettable set for the Griffins in the fourth with the Titans dominating throughout winning, 25-14. Fontbonne had four kills and eight errors for a negative -.222 hitting percentage.
Set 5: In the fifth, the two teams were tied 4-4 but Fontbonne went on a 5-0 run and fended off the Titans for the 15-11 set and match win.
Team Stats
- Fontbonne finished with 44 kills for the second straight match.
- Illinois Wesleyan ended with 40 kills and a .161 hitting percentage.
- The Griffins had a season-high 46 digs.
- The Titans posted 13 blocks at the net.
Top Griffins
Ryan Lively: Season-high 13 kills and a .200 hitting percentage
Cameron Graves: 13 kills, 8 digs
Joseph Huster: 8 kills
Alex Gantt: 22 assists
Demitrius Allen: 16 assists
Ethan Jenkins: 12 digs
Up Next
The Griffins are back in action tomorrow facing Cal Lutheran at 3 p.m. CT followed by host UC Santa Cruz at 7:30 p.m. CT
Make sure to follow the men's volleyball team on all its social media accounts: Twitter(@FBUGriffinsMVB), Instagram (@fontbonnemvb) and Facebook (/FontbonneUGriffins).