Marian University volleyball is on the rise as the Sabre men and women each enjoyed breakout seasons during the 2021-22 season.
The women kicked off the year going 15-14 overall marking the first winning season for the program since the 2003 season. The 15 wins was also the most victories in a single season for the Sabres since 2005. Marian had a winning streak of seven matches from Sept. 10 to Sept. 18 and were able to close out the season with four consecutive victories. The Sabres had 10 three-set sweeps during the year and went 10-3 in neutral site matches. As a squad, Marian had the best season in program history from the service line setting a program record with 213 service aces and becoming the first team to average more than 2.0 service aces per set.
Senior Brooklyn Taylor led the way for the Sabres posting the sixth-most service aces for a single season with 46, and the third-highest aces per set average for a single season at 0.43. From the back row, Taylor had the best season of her career ranking second in the NACC with 518 digs and a 4.89 digs per set average. She closed out her career with the fifth-best digs per set average all-time at 3.74. Offensively, sophomore Anna Tapia had the seventh-most assists for a single season with 881, and 10th for service aces at 44. Her favorite target was fellow sophomore Kaitlyn Merrill who posted the fifth-best kills per set average in program history at 3.62.
The men followed in the winter with the best season in program history after going 23-8 with a 9-3 NACC ledger. The 23 victories was 10 more than any other season to go with the highest winning percentage for a single season in program history. The nine NACC victories was also a program record for winning percentage and most conference victories in a single season. This helped lead the Sabres to a NACC Tournament berth with Marian hosting the opening round of the postseason for the third time in program history.
As a team, the Sabres put themselves all over the record books. Marian would set program records for kills (1,172), attack percentage (.249), service aces (173), aces per set (1.65), assists (1,064), digs (1,158), total blocks (214), solo blocks (59), and assisted blocks (310). An eight-match winning streak from Jan. 14 to Feb. 2 also marked the most consecutive victories in program history.
Sophomore Derek Wills proved himself as one of the best attackers in the NACC earning his second all-conference award, a first team nod. Wills had a pair of double-doubles and finished the regular season fourth in the NACC for kills per set (3.45) and points per set (4.06). He also finished fifth in the conference with 32 service aces on the year. Joining Wills on the all-conference list was freshman Keanu Ouranitsas-Hayes who made an immediate impact earning honorable mention recognition. He finished the season third in the NACC with 84 blocks on the season with 15 of his blocks being a solo effort. His 23 service aces on the year ranked 10th in the conference. Another sophomore in Aaron Velasco ranked second in the NACC with 249 digs, while senior Zach Zelenik ranked fifth in the conference with 8.82 assists per set.
