St. Louis – The Maryville men's volleyball team swept Central State in its first match of the Arch City Classic. Set scores were 25-19, 26-24, 25-22. Drew Rogers paced the Saints with eight kills and added three blocks, while Jacob Fischer recorded seven kills and five blocks. The Saints defense limited Central State to just a .020 hitting percentage.
 
Central State recap
The Saints were clinging to an 11-10 lead in set one before scoring five of the next six points. Jacob Fischer started the run with a kill, and CSU committed an error. The Marauders had a kill but made another miscue. Drew Rogers and Fischer combined on a block, and an ace by Luke Van Handel pushed the edge to 16-11. Maryville tacked on another 3-0 run to take command. The Saints hit nearly .300 in the set.
 
Maryville used an early 5-1 run to build a three-point edge to start set two. Central State tied the set at 9-9 before Rogers had a kill and Fischer and Jayden Rookhuzen teamed up for a block and an 11-9 advantage. The Marauders again tied the score at 15-all but the Saints answered with three-in-a-row. Cameron Chambers tipped in a kill for an 18-15 margin. Central State came back with a 4-0 run to grab a one-point lead before the Saints deadlocked the score at 19-19. The score was tied at 24-24 before the Saints made their final push. Victor Ganev had a kill and closed out the set with an ace.
 
Central State led for most of the early portion of the third set until the Saints tied the score at 14-14. CSU took the lead at 20-17 before the Saints ripped off a 5-0 burst. Fischer had a kill and a solo block before a CSU error tied the set at 20-all. Fischer again had a solo block and a Marauders error gave the Saints a 22-20 margin. CSU closed to 23-22 but Fischer had a kill, before a service ace closed out the match.
 
Statistical Leaders
Kills: Drew Rogers - 8
Hitting Percentage: Victor Ganev - .444
Assists: Cameron Chambers - 27
Digs: Josh Zhuchenko - 7
Blocks: Jacob Fischer - 5
Service Aces: Jacob Fischer and Victor Ganev - 1
 
Records
Maryville: 3-7
Central State: 3-9
 
What's Next?
Maryville takes on Alderson Broaddus Saturday, Feb. 11, for another 8 p.m. first serve in Moloney Arena to close out the tournament.