MCVL Tournament Preview Hosted By Fontbonne University

ST. LOUIS, Mo.—After winning the MCVL Regular Season Title for the first time in program history, the Fontbonne University men's volleyball team hosts the MCVL Conference Tournament this weekend.

Tournament Page

Schedule of games

April 9^th

#3 Mount St. Joseph vs. #2 Mount Union - 4 p.m. 

Live Video

Live Stats

#4 Trine vs. #1 Fontbonne - 7 p.m. 

Live Video

Live Stats

April 10^th

Championship Match - 3 p.m. 

A Look At Fontbonne

• The Griffins won its first MCVL Regular Season Title after knocking off Adrian to close out the regular season.
• This is the teams second appearance in the MCVL Tournament. In 2019, the Griffins were the No. 2 seed and eventually won the MCVL Championship after knocking off host Carthage in the finals.
• The 15 conference wins are a program-record at Fontbonne.
• The Griffins enter the tournament winners 12 of its last 13. Its lone blemish was a five-set loss in game two against Mount St. Joseph.
• On the year, the Griffins average 12.68 kills per set and a .313 hitting percentage.
• Nationally, the Griffins rank second in assists per set (11.94), second in total kills (12.77), fourth in kills per set (12.77) and sixth in hitting percentage. Defensively, they're third in total blocks (141), fourth in total digs (711), 11th in digs per set (11.11), and 17th in blocks per set (1.922).
• Individually, Ryan Lively leads the Griffins with 275 kills and a .352 hitting percentage. He's just 22 kills away from becoming the single-season leader in kills at Fontbonne breaking the previous mark of 296 set by Aaron Graue back in 2014.
• Lively ranks sixth nationally in kills per set (4.71) and third in kills.
• Cameron Graves totaled 149 kills thus far and a .291 hitting percentage, while Braden Woolsey has 120 kills and a team-high .498 hitting percentage which is third-best nationally.
• Setter Kyler van Rossum-O'Connell is first in the nation dishing out 11.17 assists per set and total assists (670).
• Defensively, Zach Rothstein is seventh overall at 3.14 digs per set and third in total digs (201). He needs just 29 more to become the NCAA Division III All-Time Leader in digs.

A Look At Mount Union

• The Purple Raiders picked up the No. 2 seed in the MCVL Tournament after sweeping past Mount St. Joseph on Apr. 3rd in straight sets.
• Since its two losses against Fontbonne on February 6th, the Purple Raiders have won 18 straight          contests.
• Nationally, the Purple Raiders rank first in kills (953), first in total blocks (197), first in digs (798), 12th in hitting percentage (.291), 12th in kills per set (12.38), 17th in assists per set (11.16), 12th in blocks per set (2.117), and 23rd in digs per set (10.36).
• Justin Sibbel leads the nation with his 295 kills and .258 hitting percentage. He's averaging 2.03 digs per set and totaled 24 blocks.
• Cameron Ternent has 209 kills and a .286 hitting percentage thus far, while Sam Matonis and Andrew Cross add 135 and 121 kills, respectively. Mark Bruns is the fifth player with at least 100 kills sitting at 110.
• Setter Jeremy Leyden leads with 591 assists and 10.02 assists per set which is sixth best in the nation.
• Defensively, Steven Grenier averages a team-high 3.32 digs per set placing him fourth overall.

A Look At Mount St. Joseph

• The Lions are back in the MCVL Tournament for the first time in 2018.
• The team finished the year 12-4 overall but dropped three of its last four against Fontbonne and Mount Union.
• The Lions average 12.38 kills per set to go along with its .286 hitting percentage which is 15th best in the nation.
• Jason Hascher leads the offense with 265 kills, 4.82 kills per set, and a .350 hitting percentage. He ranks fifth nationally in kills per set and total kills and 32nd in hitting percentage.
• Jack Spohn totaled 121 kills thus far and a .335 hitting percentage.
• Rey Sanchez ranks 10th nationally averaging 9.50 assists per set.
• Defensively, the Lions come away with 10.46 digs per set.
• Craig Dannemiller leads with 121 (2.57 d/s), while Derek DeMaison has 119 digs (2.16 d/s).
• At the net, the Lions average 2.15 blocks per set which is 11th nationally and just ahead of Mount Union at 2.11.

A Look At Trine

• After dropping both matches against Mount Union on March 7th, the Thunder won its final four games against Wabash and Wittenberg to pick up the No. 4 slot in the MCVL Tournament.
• The Thunder average 12.09 kills per set which is 17th best in the nation.
• Parker Beale lead swith 163 kills and a .228 hitting percentage.
• Kyle Dixon is second on the team with 111 kills and a .213 hitting percentage.
• Setter Hunter Monday averages 9.28 assists per set, while Ethan Howard comes away with 5.68 assists per set.
• Defensively, the Thunder lead the nation with 13.34 digs per set.
• Hunter Haas sits atop Division III averaging 3.84 digs per set and i second behind Steven Grenier from Mount Union with 215 digs.

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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