(RV) Men's Volleyball Closes Out Trip With Tough Losses Against (RV) Vassar And No. 8 UC Santa Cruz
THOUSAND OAKS, Calif.—The (RV) Fontbonne University men’s volleyball team closed out its trip to California with a four-set loss against (RV) Vassar and a straight set defeat against No. 8-ranked UC Santa Cruz.
THOUSAND OAKS, Calif.—The (RV) Fontbonne University men's volleyball team closed out its trip to California with a four-set loss against (RV) Vassar and a straight set defeat against No. 8-ranked UC Santa Cruz.
Game 1
Final: (RV) Vassar 3, (RV) Fontbonne 1 (25-19, 22-25, 25-22, 25-19)
Location: Thousand Oaks, Calif.
Records: (RV) Vassar 2-2, (RV) Fontbonne 0-3
How It Happened
In the first set, the Griffins opened with a 9-6 lead on Jacob Hartmann's kill. However, the Brewers responded with a 5-0 run to take the 11-9 advantage on a Fontbonne attack error.
Later in the set, the Brewers led 17-11, though a 6-1 run by Fontbonne had them right back in it, 18-17, on a block assist from Hartmann and Kyler van Rossum-O'Connell. That'd be as close as they'd get, however, with the Brewers going on for the 25-19 win.
The Brewers totaled 11 kills and a .273 hitting percentage in the first, while the Griffins had its struggles with seven kills and 10 errors for a negative hitting percentage of -.107.
In the second set, the Griffins started out with a 6-0 lead and maintained that advantage at 11-6 on a block assist from Hartmann and Nate Paasch.
Fontbonne continued to hold onto that lead, but the Brewers got the deficit down to 22-20 on Gavin van Beveren's solo block. Fontbonne never let go of its lead with a Brewers service error securing the 25-22 win.
The Griffins improved offensively in the second totaling a match-high 12 kills and a .226 hitting percentage.
In the third, the Griffins led 11-8 on a Vassar attack error and that forced them to take a timeout. The Brewers were able to regroup and take a 14-13 lead back from Fontbonne on Ryan Duchemin's kill.
They expanded it out to 20-16 but Fontbonne stayed in it later as a service error and an attack error trimmed Vassar's lead down to 24-22. The Brewers, though finished out the set on Matt Usui's kill for the 25-22 victory.
In the fourth, it was the Brewers this time around taking the early lead at 10-5 on Steven Koja's kill. Later, Vassar led 16-9, however, the Griffins got right back in it with a 4-0 run as a bad set made it a 16-13 contest.
Another Vassar attack error had Fontbonne down 20-18, but the Brewers finished out the set and the match on a 5-1 run for the 25-19 victory.
Inside The Numbers
- Fontbonne finished with 33 kills and a .044 hitting percentage.
- Defensively, they set new season-highs in digs (39), block assists (11) and total blocks (seven).
- The Brewers totaled 52 kills and a .254 hitting percentage.
- They totaled 48 digs and 20 block assists at the net.
Vassar Leaders
- Kevin Ros posted a match-high 18 kills and a .571 hitting percentage.
- Andrew Kim added 10 kills, nine digs, and three block assists.
- Steven Koja handed out a match-high 45 assists.
- Defensively, Matt Usui led with 12 digs.
Fontbonne Leaders
- Cameron Graves finished with 10 kills and a .208 hitting percentage.
- Braden Woolsey contributed seven kills and a .211 hitting percentage.
- Kyler van Rossum-O'Connell dished out 26 assists.
- Sebastian Roca led with a season-high 10 digs.
Game Two
Final: No. 8 UC Santa Cruz 3, (RV) Fontbonne 0 (25-15, 25-18, 25-14)
Location: Thousand Oaks, Calif.
Records: No. 8 UC Santa Cruz 5-3, (RV) Fontbonne 0-4
How It Happened
It was back-and-forth play early but the Banana Slugs expanded its lead out to 11-6 on a kill from Kyle Lutz. They stretched it out to 19-11, but Fontbonne got right back in it with a 20-15 deficit on a solo block from Grant Garza. However, the Banana Slugs closed out the set on a 5-0 run to take the opener 25-15.
In the second set, a kill from Nate Paasch trimmed the Banana Slugs lead to 13-10. UC Santa Cruz responded with a 5-0 run to own an 18-10 advantage. The Banana Slugs held on the rest of the way for the 25-18 victory.
In the third, a block assist from Braden Woolsey and Kyler van Rossum-O'Connell had Fontbonne trailing 12-9. The Banana Slugs rattled off a 4-0 run to take a 16-9 lead and from there they were able to go on for the 25-14 set and match win.
Inside The Numbers
- The Griffins finished with 27 kills and a .127 hitting percentage.
- Defensively, they totaled 20 digs and four blocks.
- UC Santa Cruz ended with 46 kills and an impressive .427 hitting percentage.
- They added 31 digs and 12 block assists.
Fontbonne Leaders
- Cameron Graves led with a team-high seven kills and seven digs.
- Nate Paasch added five kills, while Jacob Hartmann and Braden Woolsey had four kills each.
- Kyler van Rossum-O'Connell totaled 26 assists.
UC Santa Cruz Leaders
- Rowdy Lennon ended with a match-high 12 kills.
- Aaron Fox added 10 kills and a .500 hitting percentage.
- Sam Wittert contributed a match-high 40 assists.
Up Next
The Griffins return to action on Wednesday for an exhibition contest against NAIA No. 2-ranked Missouri Baptist University. First-service at 6 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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