CHICAGO, Ill. -- The Adrian College men's volleyball team finished its trip to Chicago with back-to-back sweeps over North Park and Maranatha Baptist. The team won all six sets to secure two match victories. The Bulldogs continue their best NCAA start with a 6-2 record.

THE BASICS

Final Match 1: Adrian 3, North Park 0

Final Match 2: Adrian 3, Maranatha Baptist 0

Location: Chicago, Ill. (Helwig Rec. Center)

Records: Adrian 6-2, North Park 1-1, Maranatha Baptist 0-2

HOW IT HAPPENED

Adrian vs. North Park

The Bulldogs started set one with a 10-6 lead that was led by kills from Noah Marcinkowski, Tedrick Gula, and Peyton Doelling. After a North Park timeout, the Vikings went on a 6-2 run to tie the set at 12-12. Adrian responded with a 4-0 run as Marcinkowski slammed down three more kills, and Joseph Campana added a kill of his own. The Bulldogs led 23-17 when North Park answered with a 7-1 run to tie to set 24-24. Marcinkowski stepped up again for Adrian and finished the set with back-to-back kills to win set one 26-24

Set two started with the teams trading points with a tie score of 8-8. Kevin Curley added to the action with a kill to help Adrian take a 12-10 lead. With the score tied at 13-13, the Bulldogs pulled ahead on a 7-1 run led by Marcinkowski, Doelling, and Curley. Lucas Rusnak added a service ace for Adrian. With a 22-16 lead, the Bulldogs finished set two with three scores in a row to lead the match 2-0.

Adrian turned up the pressure in set three and started with a big 16-6 lead. Jake Simpson contributed with three aces during a 7-0 run by the Bulldogs. Jake Witt and Kolby Miller added kills which led Adrian to a 25-14 set three win to defeat North Park 3-0 in their first match of the day.

Adrian vs. Maranatha Baptist

The Bulldogs started set one with an early lead after a kill from Curley put them up 7-5. Maranatha Baptist sparked a run to take a 13-10 lead and force an Adrian timeout. Following the timeout, the Bulldogs put the pressure on the Sabercats and jumped on a 9-3 run to force Maranatha Baptist to call a timeout. The Sabercats had to call a second timeout after Adrian sparked another run to lead 24-17. Maranatha Baptist made the set interesting a brought the Bulldog lead to 24-22 until a service error handed Adrian a set one win.

In set two, the Bulldogs started with a 10-6 lead with the help of four Sabercat attack errors. The Bulldogs added to their strong start and went on an 8-1 run to lead 22-13. A kill from Witt and a bad set by Maranatha Baptist gave Adrian a 2-0 match lead.

Headed into set three and not losing a set all day, the Bulldogs wanted to make sure they left the floor with a sweep. Marcinkowski started the set with a pair of aces which was followed by kills from Miller and Curley to take a 11-6 lead in set three. The Sabercats cut the Bulldog lead to 18-16, but 4-1 run put Adrian on top by five. A kill by Marcinkowski and a block by Gula put the Bulldogs within one point of their second sweep of the day. Maranatha Baptist got to serve again after a kill, but gave Adrian the set and the match after a service error.

UP NEXT

Adrian returns to action with a trip to New York to face Sage University on Thursday, January 23 before they participate in the SUNY Poly Wildcat Invite in Utica, New York. Thursday's match is scheduled for 7:00 PM.