ADRIAN, Mich. – The Adrian College men's volleyball team defeated the Fontbonne Griffins in five sets. The Bulldogs dropped set one 25-23 but finished the match with a 25-19 win in set two, a 29-27 win in set three, and a 15-11 win in set five. Fontbonne is projected to win the MCVL based on the preseason conference poll.

THE BASICS

Final: Adrian 3, Fontbonne 2

Location: Adrian, Mich. (Merillat Sport and Fitness Center)

Records: Adrian 10-9 (3-0 MCVL), Fontbonne 3-11 (1-1 MCVL)

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Bulldogs sparked an early run in set one and led 14-7. Fontbonne responded with a 12-3 run and took a 19-18 lead. Noah Marcinkowski and Tedrick Gula picked up kills at the end of the set, but it wasn't enough as Fontbonne scored the last three points to win 25-23.

Adrian came back in set two and grabbed an early 7-3 lead. The Bulldogs gave Fontbonne some life and allowed them to take a 10-9 lead. The Bulldogs responded with a 7-2 run led by attack errors from the Griffins. Adrian increased its lead to seven and led 23-16. Peyton Doelling slammed down the final kill to win set two.

A back-and-forth battle in set three kept things interesting. The set score was tied 17 different times. Trailing 23-21, Gula picked up a pair of kills and tied the set at 23-23. Adrian trailed by one as Fontbonne brought the set to set point. A late kill from Marcinkowski and two errors from the Griffins gave the Bulldogs a 29-27 win.

Another hard-fought battle in set four had the score tied 14-14. Fontbonne took a three-point lead but Adrian rallied back to tie the set 19-19. Kills from Gula, Marcinkowski, and Doelling allowed the Bulldogs to regain the lead at 21-20. With the set tied 25-25, Fontbonne came up with back-to-back kills to force a fifth set.

Adrian trailed 5-2 to start set five. Alex Collins picked up a kill which was followed by seven more Adrian kills to take a 12-7 lead and force the Griffins to call a timeout. The Griffins sparked a late rally and brought the score to 14-11 but Marcinkowski slammed down the final kill and the Bulldogs won the match 3-2.

UP NEXT

The Bulldogs will return to action after a two-week break on Friday, March 13 at home. Adrian will host Mount Union at 7:00 PM and look to remaining perfect in MCVL play.