(CRESTVIEW HILLS, Ky.) – The Thomas More University men's volleyball team improved to 4-1 Tuesday night, with a 3-1 (22-25, 25-17, 25-22, 25-20) victory over the Central State University Marauders.
- The Marauders best set came in the first, as they rocketed out to a 13-6 lead that forced a Thomas More timeout.
- A 7-3 Saints rally cut the lead to three at 16-13. A pair of aces and a kill from Ben Albers (Delhi, Ohio/Elder) and Jacob Wehrman (Milford, Ohio/Milford) led the way.
- The Marauders kept the Saints at bay though, stretching their lead back out to five at 24-19.
- A pair of errors plus a Caleb Lipscomb (Cincinnati, Ohio/Walnut Hills/St. Francis Brooklyn College) kill got the Saints back within two, but a kill ended the set and put Central State up 1-0.
- The Saints had an incredible response though, taking a 5-0 lead immediately in the second set and eventually pushing the lead to six at 11-5.
- Several Marauder errors coupled with a pair of Dominic Rossi (Pittsburgh, Pa./Shaler) kills fueled the run.
- Central State cut the lead to 17-14, but another Saints response was in order.
- They ended the set on an 8-3 run, that was led by kills from Lipscomb and Wehrman.
- The third set was back and forth, but the Saints eventually took a five-point, 16-11 advantage.
- Rossi and Conner Young (Cincinnati, Ohio/Princeton) both had two kills at this point in the set.
- The Marauders scared Thomas More, cutting the lead to 24-22 late, but a service error ended the set and gave the Saints a 2-1 lead.
- Thomas More exploded out to a 13-5 lead in the final set, led by a pair of kills from Mason Collver (Zionsville, Ind./Zionsville), Albers, and Rossi.
- Central State would storm back and make it a two-point set at 19-17.
- Thomas More would hold on however, as they had done throughout the match, never letting the Marauders get over the hump in the 25-20 set win and 3-1 match victory.
- Collver led the Saints with 10 kills, becoming the first Saint this season to record double-digit kills in a match.
- Jonathan Litzler had 14 digs (Edgewood, Ky./St. Henry).
- The Saints continued a strong passing distribution as Young led with 24 assists and Eli Chambers (Eagle Rock, Calif./Eagle Rock/Santa Monica College) followed with 13.
- This is the first match this season where the Saints had two or more players with double-digit assists.
- Lipscomb had four blocks (three solo, one assist), while Collver also added four (two solo, two assists).
- The team hit .259, their second-best hitting percentage so far this season.
Thomas More begins Mid-South Conference play Friday night against the Campbellsville University Tigers, who are currently ranked 15th in the NAIA Coaches' Poll.
