Men's Volleyball Tallies Four-Set Win Over Titans

BLOOMINGTON, Ill.—The Fontbonne University men's volleyball team got back on the winning track Tuesday after a four-set win over Illinois Wesleyan.

Final: Fontbonne 3, Illinois Wesleyan 1 (20-25, 25-19, 25-22, 25-21)

Location: Bloomington, Ill.

Records: Fontbonne 6-1, Illinois Wesleyan 4-3

Set Notes

Set 1: The Griffins opened with a 15-11 lead on Nate Paasch's kill. The Titans went on a 7-2 run taking a 19-17 lead on Michael Eastman's kill. IWU never relinquished its lead and went on for the 25-20 opening set win.

Fontbonne posted 11 kills and a .172 hitting percentage in the first. Ryan Lively led with four kills, while Paasch and Joseph Huster had three kills each.

Set 2: The two teams battled its way to a 17-17 tie in the second set. After a service error and a kill from Lively, the Griffins were in control holding a 19-17 lead. They finished out the set on a 6-2 run with Paasch's kill giving Fontbonne the 25-19 victory.

The Griffins posted a match-high 16 kill and a .243 hitting percentage in the second. Lively hammered home six kills on nine swings. Paasch had another strong set with five kills and six digs. Defensively, the Griffins totaled 18 digs.

Set 3: After Fontbonne led 11-9 on Braden Woolsey's kill, the Titans squared up with the Griffins at 11-11. Later, the score was tied 16-16 but kills from Lively and Graves, along with a double block from Paasch and Woolsey put Fontbonne on top, 19-16.

The Titans tried a late run, however, the Griffins finished the set off on Woolsey's kill for the 25-22 victory. The Griffins had 13 kills in the third led by Graves with five on nine swings for a .333 hitting percentage.

Set 4: Fontbonne put the Titans in a 12-7 hole on Graves' kill forcing the IWU coaching staff to take a timeout. Out of the break, the Griffins expanded its lead out to 18-12 on Woolsey's kill and went on for the 25-21 set and match win on Lively's kill.

Team Comparison

• The Griffins totaled a season-high 51 kills, to go along with its .230 hitting percentage.
• Fontbonne also set new season-highs in assists (47), digs (53), block assists (12), and total blocks (10).
• Illinois Wesleyan ended with 40 kills and a .154 hitting percentage.
• The Titans ended with 19 block assists.
• At the service line, the Titans committed 20 errors.

Top Griffins

• Ryan Lively led with 14 kills.
• Nate Paasch recorded his first career double-double with 11 kills and tying his career-high with 13 digs. He also set a season-high with three blocks.
• Cameron Graves earned his sixth career double-double with 10 kills and 11 digs.
• Joseph Huster ended with a career-best nine kills and a season-high .615 hitting percentage. He tied his career-high with five blocks.
• Kyler van Rossum-O'Connell handed out a season-high 46 assists. He's now up to 3,866 career assists placing him 10^th all-time in Division III. He's also a mere 134 assists away from becoming just the ninth player in Division III men's volleyball history with 4,000 career assists.
• Ryan Taylor ended with a season-high 11 digs.

Up Next

The Griffins gear up for the Fontbonne Invitational held this weekend and first up is Augustana on Friday at 7 p.m.

About Fontbonne University

Fontbonne University is a private, Catholic liberal arts university located in St. Louis, committed to a transformative education and inspiring students to become global citizens who think critically, act ethically and serve responsibly. The university, founded in 1923, is sponsored by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet. For more information, visit www.fontbonne.edu

Make sure to follow the men's volleyball team on all its social media accounts: Twitter(@FBUGriffinsMVB), Instagram (@fontbonnemvb) and Facebook (/FontbonneUGriffins).