The winningest season in Marian University men’s volleyball (23-8, 9-3) history came to an end as the Sabres fell to MSOE in the opening round of the NACC Tournament 25-19, 25-18, and 25-22.
The Raiders were able to take an early 9-6 lead on the Sabres but Marian was able to respond tying the first set at 15-15. A 6-1 run from MSOE saw the Raiders take a 21-16 advantage and cruise to the set one victory. The strong finish to the first aided MSOE as the Raiders were able to jump ahead 9-4 to open the second. The Sabres managed to score three straight points to cut their deficit to two but an 8-4 run saw MSOE build their advantage back up to 17-11. The Raiders ended the set on a 5-2 run to take a 2-0 lead on Marian.
After MSOE scored the first three points of the third, Marian battled back as three points proved to be the largest lead of the set for either team. The back-and-forth set eventually came to a 21-21 draw before MSOE scored four of the final five points of the match to secure the sweep.
Sophomore Derek Wills paced the Sabre offense with nine kills, while freshman Isaac Dreifuerst provided a spark recording six kills and a pair of blocks. Senior Zach Zelenik nearly posted a double-double recording 23 assists to go with nine digs. Fellow senior Carzell Combs led the way in the back row with a match-high 12 digs.
