HUNTINGDON, Pa. —The Marymount (Va.) University men's volleyball team traveled to Huntingdon, Pennsylvania for two matches at Juniata College. The Saints conquered the Eagles in four sets, 3-1 (25-15, 25-21, 17-25, 25-23).  In the second match up of the day, the Saints took on Wells College, pulling in a four-set victory again, 3-1 (23-25, 26-24, 25-19, 25-21). 

Juniata College

In set one, junior Tomasz Ksiazkiewicz got started early with a kill to take the 1-0 lead for the Saints. The Eagles committed an error and the Saints capitalized with another kill from Ksiazkiewicz to go up 3-0. Marymount maintained a two-point lead through most of the set before extending their lead in the middle of the game. After reaching 12-11, the Saints went on a 4-0 run forcing Juniata to take a timeout, but MU kept its foot on the pedal extending their lead to 21-14 after the timeout. Sophomores TJ Wiechecki and Connor Choate each added a kill at the end to pull in set one, 25-15. 

Marymount trailed 3-0 early in set two but battled its way back into the set. Wiechecki got things started for the Saints with a kill, while sophomore Erich Bratke was credited with the assist. MU tied the game at 3-3 and both teams continued trading points reaching four ties in the beginning of the set. After trailing 10-8, Marymount took a timeout, but soon regained momentum after a service ace by Bratke and a kill from Wiechecki. Wiechecki posted back-to-back kills followed by a block from Ksiazkiewicz to take a 13-12 lead. The blue and white went on to win the set, 25-21, after Wiechecki capped the game of with a kill.

Bratke struck first for the Saints in set three to tie the game at 1-1. The Saints fell behind later in the set and were forced to take a timeout after falling behind 11-8. Wiechecki came out of the timeout swinging, racking up another two kills for the Saints. The blue and white took another timeout after trailing 17-11.  Following the timeout, Ksiazkiewicz and sophomore Graham Clark put the ball away cutting the deficit to four, but the Saints eventually fell short 25-17.

Set four proved to be a tough battle from the beginning after seeing six ties early on. The momentum continued to swing back and forth with three lead changes before either team reached 15 points. A kill from Ksiazkiewicz and Clark helped the Saints regain the lead at 15-14 and forced Juniata to take a timeout. The Saints went on to win the set, 25-23, after a kill from freshman Eric Wiles and an error by the Eagles. 

Wiechecki led the offense with a match-high 19 kills, followed by Ksiazkiewicz who posted 11. Bratke registered a match-high 50 assists, and Choate led the defense with nine digs.

Wells College

The first set resulted in a tough battle between Marymount and Wells. Both teams traded points throughout the set, even with the Saints trailing by as much as seven before fighting their way back with a 6-0 to bring the set back within one. The blue and white followed with another 3-0 run to take a 17-16 lead late. The momentum shifted back and forth until the Saints fell just short, 25-23.

The Saints trailed early in the beginning of the second set, but managed to find a way back into the game tying the game up at 13-13. MU took the lead, 18-16, after back-to-back kills by freshman James Knight. Wells was forced to take a timeout. Following the timeout the teams went point for point causing six ties and two lead changes. The set ended on an error by Wells to give the Saints the win in extra points, 26-24. 

Marymount came out swinging in the third set, seeing two kills early on by Ksiazkiewicz. MU went on a 6-1 run to take the 9-3 advantage. Wells managed to come back and retie the game, 14-14, later in the set, but Marymount continued to build a lead going on a 5-0 run late in the set to gain a 24-18 advantage. Wiles provided the winning kill of the set to finish 25-19 and grab a 2-1 lead in sets.

Wiles struck first for the Saints and was followed up by two errors committed by Wells to take an early 3-0 lead in the fourth set. Marymount maintained its lead, never allowing a tie or lead change throughout the remainder of the set.  The biggest lead of the set came after back-to-back kills from freshman Alex Treser to give the Saints a 10-6 lead. The set and match ended by a kill from Clark to cap off the victory, 25-21. 

Clark and Ksiazkiewicz led the Saints offense with 10 kills apiece.  Bratke racked up another 31 assists on the day, followed by sophomore Jordan Pawlicki who added 15. Treser scooped up 12 digs on the defensive end.

The men's squad will open at home against CVC opponent Stevenson University on Wednesday, February 10.  The match is set to begin at 7 p.m., in the Verizon Sports Arena.