Contact: Emily Zadny, Sports Information Graduate Assistant, 630-637-5302

Box Score

ST. LOUIS, Mo. (March 15, 2019) – Entering the match as the No. 8-ranked team in the nation, the North Central College men's volleyball team returned to the court following nearly two-weeks off from competition but did not come away with the outcome it hoped for on Friday evening, falling in three-sets to Fontbonne University (17-1, 2-1 MCVL) in a Midwest Collegiate Volleyball League (MCVL) match.

Justin Curtis put North Central on the board with a kill in response to an attack error that put them down 1-0 and came back to pull the team ahead 3-2 with a block with Nick Lilley. The Cardinals began to lose control of the first set when they quickly found themselves with a 7-3 deficit which soon grew to 13-7. Anthony Kluzak came up with a kill that sparked three points in favor of North Central later in the set, but a block from Emir Hadzisalihociv sealed set point for the Griffins, 25-21.

Fontbonne came out strong in the second set, leading 3-0, but a four-point run highlighted by back-to-back kills from Jacob Zemba gave the Cardinals the advantage. Two more back-to-back kills from Zemba put North Central ahead by one a few points later and got the ball rolling for the Cardinals to tie it up 13-13 with an ace from Kevin Braceros. Kevin Messer came in with a kill off the hands of Michael Trunzo to regain the lead for the Cardinals, 15-14, but the Griffins were ready to take back control, scoring three-straight points to pull ahead by two. Bozhidar Kolev hit two kills late in the set to try to keep the Cardinals in it, but three straight errors by North Central and a kill from Hadzisalihovic gave the Griffins a 2-0 lead, taking the second set 25-20.

Kolev and the Cardinals came out playing to stay alive in the third set, but Fontbonne slowly began chipping away at North Central's momentum, pulling ahead 6-4. Casey Hiller cut the score within one with a kill off the hands of Trunzo, but what followed was disastrous for North Central as the Griffins scored 13 points to the Cardinals' three, taking a 19-8 lead. Jason Eslinger entered the match and came up with a kill with help from Curtis, but coming back proved impossible for North Central and Fontbonne handed the Cardinals their first MCVL loss, taking the third set 25-16.

Hadzisalihovic led all players with 11 blocks while Zemba led the Cardinals with ten kills and Curtis had three blocks. North Central hung tight with the Griffins with 31 kills each, but 26 errors on behalf of the Cardinals and 11 blocks by the Fontbonne defense proved costly in the end.

North Central (12-8, 2-1 MCVL) will have another chance to bring home a victory in less than 24 hours, playing Greenville University at 1 p.m. A link to live in-match coverage can be found HERE.