BEREA, Ohio – The Baldwin Wallace University men's volleyball team faced Fontbonne (Mo.) University in a big MCVL matchup in Urpsrung Gymnasium inside the Lou Higgins Center. The Yellow Jackets fell to the Griffins (17-6, 6-0 MCVL) in three sets by scores of 25-19, 27-25, and 25-21.
BW (8-17, 3-4 MCVL) was led by sophomore right side hitter Nick Mazzone (Springboro/Bishop Fenwick) as he tallied 13 kills. Sophomore outside hitter Nick Irelan (Powell/Olentangy Liberty) posted 11 kills and four digs. Sophomore setter Brandon Long (Hinckley/Metea Valley, Ill.) dished out 30 assists while contributing five digs. Freshman libero Andrew Soriano (Aurora, Ill./Benet Academy) totaled 10 digs.
1st Set
- An ace by Fontbonne put the Griffins up 11-5 to force BW to its first timeout
- A second came from BW after Fontbonne went up 18-13
- Despite a lot of back-and-forth play in the last part of the set, the Griffins went on to win game one, 25-19
2nd Set
- Huge kill by Irelan and back-to-back blocks earned BW the 6-3 lead early in the game
- BW tallied one more to go up 7-3, forcing Fontbonne to a timeout
- The Griffins battled back to tie the set at 18-18, forcing BW to a timeout
- With the Yellow Jackets up 23-21, Fontbonne tallied two points to tie it at 23 a piece
- BW took a timeout down 25-24 late in the set
- A kill out of the timeout by sophomore All-MCVL outside hitter Michael Beard (Hilliard/Darby) tied the set back up 25-25
- A service ace and a hitting error closed the set, Fontbonne taking the game 27-25
3rd Set
- The two teams went point-for-point most of the set until the Griffins found a three-point lead at 17-14, forcing a BW timeout
- BW battled back to close the gap to 20-21 late in the set
- The Griffins notched two back-to-back, putting them up 23-20, and forcing a Yellow Jacket timeout
- A service error by BW gave the Griffins the set (25-21) and match (3-0) win
The Yellow Jackets are back in action Saturday, April 2 as they conclude the regular season on the road, traveling to Angola, Ind. BW will take on Trine University in another conference contest starting at 1:00 p.m. inside Hershey Hall.
