ARLINGTON, Va.— The Marymount (Va.) University men's volleyball team defeated Thiel College on Friday night in a three-set sweep, 3-0 (25-19, 25-15, 27-25), at the Verizon Sports Arena. Marymount moves to 16-8 overall this season, 8-2 in Continental Volleyball Conference play.

The Saints battled point-for-point in the opening set until grabbing their first advantage with a block assist by sophomores TJ Wiechecki and Ben Steranka. Wiechecki followed up this play with two kills and freshman Eric Wiles notched a kill of his own. Thiel answered, but Wiechecki and Wiles added back-to-back kills. The points went back and forth before Thiel grabbed three points, but this wasn't enough as Marymount completed the set with the last two points. The set ended, 25-19, as Wiles and Steranka put up a wall to put down a block.

The Saints took a quick lead in the second set, 5-1. The Tomcats came back to make it a one-point game at 9-8, but Marymount changed it around with a kill from freshman James Knight. Thiel took a timeout at 12-8 trying to change the momentum; this worked out as both teams battled back and forth. MU ended the set with a kill from Wiechecki and an ace by sophomore Connor Choate, 25-15.

The third set started off slowly before MU went on a 4-0 run giving itself a small lead, 8-6. Both teams battled it out point-for-point throughout the set; the Saints and Tomcats were tied throughout the set on 16 different occasions. An attack error by the Tomcats and a kill by Knight ended the set and match, 27-25. 

On the offensive end, Wiechecki led the team with 12 kills, maintaining a .500 kill percentage, while Knight and Wiles both added seven each. Sophomores Erich Bratke and Jordan Pawlicki both came up big in assists, adding 21 and 18, respectively. On the defensive end, Steranka notched six blocks, while sophomore Albert Johansson had 10 digs.

Marymount will continue at home for its last home match of the regular season on Saturday, March 19, in a CVC matchup against Juniata College in the Verizon Sports Arena. First set is scheduled for a 6 p.m., start.