OWINGS MILLS, Md. - The Marymount University men's volleyball team split its two road matches on Saturday evening, tackling Nazareth in the opening match before falling in four sets to No. 12 Stevenson.

Match 1: Marymount 3, Nazareth 1

The Saints opened up with a great performance against Nazareth, taking it in four sets, 3-1 (25-16, 18-25, 25-21, 25-19). 

Out of the four sets, the momentum was quickly set with a first set that had 13 kills and no errors for a .765 hitting percentage. Cruising to a 25-16 win in game one, the Saints slipped up in the second set before grabbing two-straight victories in the third and fourth to seal the match up. 

Senior Sam Safley put down the ground work in the match with a match-high 17 kills, while sophomore Raymond Tarasi register his first double-double performance with 14 kills and 11 digs. Senior Joseph Zanelotti dished out 40 assists through the four sets, and sophomore Chris Manganiello dove out for a team-high 12 digs. Sophomore Jason Perkins was a force at the net, notching a match-high four solo blocks to go with a block assist. 

Match 2: Stevenson 3, Marymount 1

The final match for the Saints was against No. 12 Stevenson, the host for the day, pushing the Mustangs to the brink before falling in extra points in the fourth set, 3-1 (23-25, 25-17, 26-24, 30-28)

Marymount put together a strong first set, knocking down 14 kills on a .400 hitting percentage to battle to a 25-23 victory. It was a last push for the Saints with the set all tied up at 23-23 following two-straight points by the Mustangs, but MU answered with back-to-back kills by freshman Hayden Kerekes and Safley to earn the first-set win.

The second set played in favor of Stevenson, working to a 25-17 decision to even out the match, but the final two sets didn't go without a battle. 

In the third, a game of runs had the Saints rally back late with three-straight points to draw it even at 24-24. In the stretch, the Mustangs had an attack error, Safley landed a kill and Kerekes drew it even with a service ace. However, Stevenson responded with the next two points to seal up the game, 26-24. 

The fourth set also went to extra points, as the two teams went neck-and-neck down the stretch of regulation. At 22-22, neither team separated more than a point all the way to final 30-28 decision. The Saints had set point four times in the fourth, but it was the Mustangs that earned the final two points to take the match.

Safley and Tarasi led the attack again with 16 and 10 kills, in that order, while Zanelotti added 39 more assists to his day. Tarasi earned his second double-double with a team-high 10 digs. 

The Saints now enter Continental Volleyball Conference play next week, traveling to No. 7 Juniata College on Friday, February 7. Start time is set for 7 p.m.