The Maryville men's volleyball team won both of its games in Ohio Saturday afternoon to run its winning streak to four. The Saints swept Wittenberg 25-17, 25-18, 25-23 to start the day, and followed up to rally for a five-set thriller at Central State, 32-30, 22-25, 20-25, 26-24, 15-12.
 
Wittenberg Recap
The Saints opened the match by scoring five of the first six points. Victor Ganev and Armin Ahmethodzic had a block for an early 5-1 edge. A 3-0 burst built a 13-6 lead capped by an ace by Josh Zhuchenko. The Tigers got as close as 21-17 but the Saints scored four straight points on Ganev's serve for a 25-17 win.
 
Maryville started set two even better, following a 3-0 run with a 7-0 burst to build a 10-1 advantage. Wittenberg tried to make a small run but never scored more than three straight points. The Saints still led by five late before pulling away for a 25-18 decision.
 
Set three was close and tied at 16-all before the Saints took the lead for good with three unanswered points. Wittenberg trimmed the gap to one on two occasions the last time at 22-21. But Tate Sandvig had a kill to start a 3-0 run. David Fleisher's ace ended the match.
 
Statistical Leaders:
Kills: Victor Ganev - 8
Hitting Percentage: Jacob Fischer and David Fleischer - .500
Assists: Josh Zhuchenko - 17
Digs: Victor Ganev - 7
Service Aces: Victor Ganev and Josh Zhuchenko - 2
Blocks: Victor Ganev - 6
 
Records
Maryville: 6-7
Wittenberg: 5-6
 
Central State Recap
The Saints won the longest set of the season 32-20 but the Mauraders bounced back to take the next two sets. Maryville again had to work extra points but won the fourth 26-24 to force a decisive fifth set.
 
The Saints went up 5-3 but CSU tallied four of the next five points to jump ahead 7-6. The teams traded points until Central State led 11-10. The Saints went up 12-11 but the home side tied it at 12-all. Tate Sandvig then took over and pushed the Saints to the win. The pounded down two straight kills to earn a match point at 14-12. Central State looked to win the point but Sandvig and Cole Torrence combined on the match-ending block as the Saints completed the rally. Sandvig finished with the most kills by a Saint this season with 23.
 
Statistical Leaders:
Kills: Tate Sandvig - 23
Hitting Percentage: Cole Torrence - .538
Assists: Cameron Chambers - 50
Digs: Luke Van Handel - 22
Service Aces: Cameron Chambers and Mason Mortimer - 2
Blocks: Jacob Fischer and Tate Sandvig - 3
 
Records
Maryville: 7-7
Central State: 0-8
 
What's Next?
The Saints make the short trek down Conway Road to face Missouri Baptist Wednesday, Feb. 16. The match will start at 7 p.m.