Men's Volleyball Opens Season With Wins Over North Park And Illinois Wesleyan

SANTA CRUZ, Calif.—The Fontbonne University men's volleyball team opened its 2023 season 2-0 after knocking off both North Park and Illinois Wesleyan at the UC Santa Cruz Slug Slam.

Match One

Fontbonne 3, North Park 1 (25-23, 18-25, 25-18, 25-16)

Set Notes

Set 1: It was back-and-forth action early in the first, but the Vikings grabbed an 18-15 advantage over the Griffins. 

They maintained its lead up until Fontbonne tied it 22-22 on Joseph Huster's kill. After a timeout by North Park, the Griffins closed out the set on a 3-0 run for the win.

Fontbonne had 12 kills and a .222 hitting percentage in the first with Cameron Graves leading with five kills. Ryan Lively and Huster added three each. 

Set 2: The Vikings put the Griffins in an early 12-7 hole. The Griffins were unable to mount a comeback this time around with North Park going on for the 25-18 win. 

The Griffins were limited to nine kills and a .103 hitting percentage in the set. North Park totaled 11 kills on 27 swings for a .222 hitting percentage.

Set 3: The Griffins bounced back in the third taking a commanding 10-3 lead on a block assist from Demitrius Allen and Joseph Huster.

Fontbonne dominated the rest of the set for the 25-18 victory. The Griffins had its best set offensively in the game with 13 kills on 25 swings for a match-high .440 hitting percentage.

Graves led with four kills, while Brooks added three on four swings. Defensively, the Griffins were busy at the net with five total blocks.

Set 4: Fontbonne carried that momentum into the fourth owning a 12-3 lead on a block assist from Huster and Graves. There was no looking back from there as they went on for the 25-16 set and match win. 

Game Stats

• Fontbonne totaled 44 kills and a .243 hitting percentage
• North Park had 36 kills and a .186 hitting percentage.
• Fontbonne totaled 37 digs.
• The Griffins had 21 block assists and 11.5 total blocks.

Top Griffins

Cameron Graves: 14 kills and a .300 hitting percentage

Tony Brooks: 8 kills, .312 hitting percentage, 4 block assists

Joseph Huster: 8 kills, .357 hitting percentage, 5 block assists

Ryan Lively: 8 kills

Alex Gantt: Career-high 22 assists

Demitrius Allen: 18 assists

Ryan Taylor 9 digs

Match Two

Fontbonne def. Illinois Wesleyan 3-2 (25-19, 26-28, 25-20, 14-25, 15-11)

Set Notes

Set 1: In the first set, the Griffins took a 15-9 lead on a kill from Brooks. They never relinquished its lead the rest of the way going on for the 25-19 win.

Fontbonne totaled 11 kills and a .208 hitting percentage in the first. Lively was busy with five kills on 11 swings. 

Set 2: The Titans held small lead over the Griffins, but Fontbonne eventually took a 24-22 lead on a kill from Huster forcing IWU to take a timeout.

Out of the break, though the Titans went on a 3-0 run forcing Fontbonne to take a timeout of its own. After the two teams went point-for-point, the Titans won the set on kills from Jace Milka and Michael Eastman for the 28-26 victory. 

Fontbonne had 12 kills and a .152 hitting percentage in the second, while the Titans had its best set of the evening with 14 kills on 34 attempts for a .235 hitting percentage. 

Set 3: After the two teams met-up at 10-10, the Griffins went on a 5-0 run with Allen's kill giving them some breathing room. The Titans made it interesting late narrowing the deficit to 22-20, but Fontbonne closed out on a 3-0 run for the win.

Both teams had its struggles offensively in the third with Fontbonne having eight kills and seven errors for a .037 hitting percentage. IWU had five kills and five errors for a .000 hitting percentage.

Set 4: It was a forgettable set for the Griffins in the fourth with the Titans dominating throughout winning, 25-14. Fontbonne had four kills and eight errors for a negative -.222 hitting percentage.

Set 5: In the fifth, the two teams were tied 4-4 but Fontbonne went on a 5-0 run and fended off the Titans for the 15-11 set and match win.

Team Stats

• Fontbonne finished with 44 kills for the second straight match.
• Illinois Wesleyan ended with 40 kills and a .161 hitting percentage.
• The Griffins had a season-high 46 digs.
• The Titans posted 13 blocks at the net.

Top Griffins

Ryan Lively: Season-high 13 kills and a .200 hitting percentage

Cameron Graves: 13 kills, 8 digs

Joseph Huster: 8 kills

Alex Gantt: 22 assists

Demitrius Allen: 16 assists

Ethan Jenkins: 12 digs

Up Next

The Griffins are back in action tomorrow facing Cal Lutheran at 3 p.m. CT followed by host UC Santa Cruz at 7:30 p.m. CT 

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