(RV) Men's Volleyball Falls In Straight Sets Against No. 13 New York, Graves Sets Career-High In Kills
THOUSAND OAKS, Calif.— The (RV) Fontbonne University men’s volleyball team dropped a tough straight set (25-20, 25-20, 25-22) contest against No. 13-ranked New York on Friday afternoon.
THOUSAND OAKS, Calif.— The (RV) Fontbonne University men's volleyball team dropped a tough straight set (25-20, 25-20, 25-22) contest against No. 13-ranked New York on Friday afternoon.
Final: No. 13 New York 3, (RV) Fontbonne 0 (25-20, 25-20, 25-22)
Location: Thousand Oaks, Calif.
Records: No. 13 New York 1-0, (RV) Fontbonne 0-2
How It Happened
It was back-and-forth play early but the Griffins owned a marginal 9-8 lead on Cameron Graves' kill. The Violets answered with a 3-0 run and held onto its lead at 16-13 on a Fontbonne attack error.
Despite, the Griffins staying within striking distance, the Violets fended off Fontbonne for the 25-20 opening set win. Fontbonne opened with 13 kills and a .207 hitting percentage in the opener, while the Violets concluded with 12 kills on 22 swings for a .409 hitting percentage.
In the second set, the Violets led 9-4, though the Griffins trimmed the deficit down to 12-11 on Tony Brooks' kill. Later, the Violets gained some breathing room on Evan Lindley's kill to give them a 19-14 advantage.
However, the Griffins kept on battling with a solo block rom Braden Woolsey narrowing the lead down to 21-19. NYU was able to finish off the set and go on for the 25-20 set win. The Griffins concluded with nine kills and a team-high .368 hitting percentage in the second. NYU, meanwhile, totaled a match-high 18 kills and a .500 hitting percentage.
In the third, the Violets jumped out to a fast 10-3 lead on a service ace and that forced the Griffins to take a timeout. Fontbonne responded out of the break on a 10-4 run to make it a 14-3 outing on a Violets attack error.
The Griffins tried to mount a comeback with a kill from Graves and a Violets attack error putting them down 24-22, though a service error by the Griffins secured the 25-22 set and match win for New York.
Inside The Numbers
- Fontbonne finished with new season-highs in kills (34), hitting percentage (.240), and assists (33).
- The team had its struggles from the service line committing a season-high 14 service errors.
- NYU ended with 41 kills and a .384 hitting percentage.
- At the net, the team finished with 16 block assists.
Fontbonne Leaders
- Cameron Graves led with a career-high 12 kills and a .286 hitting percentage.
- Nate Paasch, Tony Brooks, and Grant Garza contributed five kills each.
- Setter Kyler van Rossum-O'Connell handed out a season-high 29 assists and tied Zach Rothstein with five digs.
- Rothstein is now just 14 digs away from becoming the all-time leader at Fontbonne.
New York Leaders
- Alex Li filled up the stat sheet with 12 kills, a .647 hitting percentage, and three block assists.
- Neil Ferraro added 11 kills and a game-high six block assists.
- Ryan Whealan totaled 23 assists.
Up Next
The Griffins look to close out its trip on a high note on Saturday when they'll take on (RV) Vassar at 3:30 p.m., followed by a 6 p.m., contest against No. 8-ranked UC Santa Cruz.
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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