Griffins' solid third-set blocking almost handed #3 Carthage first set loss of the season

St. Louis, Mo. - Fontbonne men's volleyball almost handed No. 3-ranked Carthage College their first NCAA Division III set loss today. The Griffins trailed 18-21 in the third set before securing a 22-21 lead on a block from Emir Hadzisalihovic and Stephen Lendy. Carthage closed out the three-set win with four kills to avoid losing their first set to a fellow Division III team this season. The Red Men are now 4-0 in Midwest Collegiate Volleyball League play while the Griffins drop to 6-3 overall.

Carthage won the first set after hitting .591 but struggled in the second set with a .000 hitting percentage followed with a .182 in the final set. Griffin Shields led the Red Men with 17 kills.

Fontbonne's Hadzisalihovic totaled three solo blocks and four block assists on the afternoon. He also led the Griffins with six kills and a .455 hitting percentage. Fontbonne rallied in the third frame for six of their eight total blocks. Libero Jimmy Stika dug his team out of some serious trouble throughout the game including a pancake dig which enabled Lendy to give the Griffins a 6-5 lead on a block in the third set.

Fontbonne is on the road next weekend playing at Illinois Tech on Friday, Benedictine on Saturday and Dominican on Sunday. Fontbonne returns home to play Adrian and Olivet the first weekend of March.