Men's Volleyball succumbs to Greenville with loss of key hitter

Greenville, Ill. - Fontbonne men's volleyball had a rough start in their conference matchup at Greenville College last night. Sophomore Stephen Lendy fell after the second point of the contest and was removed from play, not to return, rattling the Griffins in the first set. Lendy came into the game second on the team in kills, service aces and blocks.

After losing 25-15 in the opening round, the Griffins adjusted to their new lineup. Fontbonne opened second-set play with two kills by middle blocker Emir Hadzisalihovic as the Griffins opened to a 4-3 lead. The teams rallied back and forth with ties for points 12-17 until the Griffins held a 23-20 advantage. Greenville scored three straight points to tie the game. Both teams were tied for points 24-27 as well until Greenville closed out the win.

In the third set, Fontbonne led 18-13 until Greenville started making a comeback. The Panthers went on a 7-2 run to tied the game 20-20 and again both teams fought back and forth, tieing each point to 25 until Greenville secured the final two points.

Leading the Griffins was Hadzisalihovic, hitting .333 with 11 kills and three blocks. Freshman Brendon Schwartze tallied 10 kills while libero Jimmy Stika notched 14 digs. James Sauermann also blocked three for the Griffins. Jacob Lendy recorded 29 assists in the loss.

Fontbonne is off for a week before hosting Adrian College on Friday, March 4th at 7 p.m. followed by Olivet College the following afternoon at 2 p.m.