ADRIAN, Mich. - The Adrian College men's volleyball team opened the season with a 3-1 loss to Marian (Wis.) on Friday night. Noah Marcinkowski was the leading attacker for the Bulldogs with nine kills.

THE BASICS

Final Score: Marian (Wis.) 3, Adrian 1 (24-26, 25-19, 25-8, 25-15)

Location: Adrian, Michigan (Merillat Sports and Fitness Center)

Records: Marian (Wis.) (1-0), Adrian (0-1)

HOW IT HAPPENED

Adrian tied the score at five before taking its first lead of the match, 6-5. With the score 12-11 in favor of the Bulldogs, Adrian scored five straight points to climb to a 17-11 lead. However, the Sabres would rally back and eventually tie the score at 21 before taking a 24-22 lead. Adrian would battle back, scoring the last four points to take a 26-24 set one win.

Marian (Wis.) jumped out to a 3-0 lead early in the second set before the Bulldogs would score five straight points to capture the lead. After trading points, the Sabres scored four straight to jump ahead 8-6. Adrian would tie the score at eight but would fail to recapture the lead as Marian would tie the score at one game each with a 25-19 set-two victory.

The third set was all Marian as the Sabres jumped out to a quick 7-2 lead. The Bulldogs struggled on offense finishing the set with a -.077 team attack percentage as the Sabres hit a match-high .632 to win the set 25-8 and take a 2-1 lead.

Adrian's offensive struggled continued in the fourth as the team had its lowest attack percentage of the match (-.160). Marian finished off the match with a 25-15 advantage in the fourth to pull out the 3-1 triumph.

TOP DOGS

• Marcinkowski added nine digs, two service aces, one assist, and one block assist to his match totals.

• Mike Gold tallied six kills in his Adrian debut--second-most kills on the team for the match.

• Avery Johnson contributed five kills and one block assist, in the losing effort.

• Joseph Campana paced the Bulldog attack with 28 assists and two kills. He also helped on defense with nine digs.

• Eduardo Aleman had a match-high 12 digs to lead the Bulldogs defensively. He also recorded three kills and one service ace.

• Kyle Bell and Kevin Curley each registered six digs to help the Adrian defense.

THE OPPOSITION

• Aaron Wendels and Jon Smallpage led the Sabres attack with 17 and 14 kills respectively. Smallpage also tallied three block assists to lead the Sabres.

• Joey Dittman set the tone offensively with 38 assists.

• Robert Walusay led the defense with seven digs.

UP NEXT

Adrian travels across town to face Siena Heights on Saturday, January 20. The match is scheduled to begin at 1:00 p.m., EST.