St. Louis – The Maryville men's volleyball team dropped a three-set decision to Purdue Fort Wayne Wednesday evening in Moloney Arena. The Mastodons, who are receiving votes in the latest AVCA poll, won 25-17, 25-19, 25-17. Caden Klingbeil led the Saints with nine kills and hit .300 in the contest. Victor Ganev added six kills to assist the offense.
 
Purdue Fort Wayne recap
Trailing 7-3, the Saints scored seven of the next eight points to surge into the lead. After two Mastodon errors, Cameron Chambers recorded a block, and Klingbeil's kill tied the set at 7-7. Purdue Fort Wayne scored but the Saints tacked on another 3-0 run. David Fleischer served an ace to put Maryville up 10-8. The set was tied at 11-11 before the Mastodons scored four straight to take the lead. Jayden Rookhuyzen had a kill to pull the Saints to 15-12. Fleischer and Drew Rogers teamed up for a block at 17-14 but Maryville never got any closer.
 
The Saints took a 6-5 edge in set two on a Rookhuyzen kill. The teams traded points but Maryville was still up 9-8 after a Klingbeil kill. The Mastodons tallied seven of the next eight points to jump ahead. A late push by the Saints trimmed the gap down to 24-19 on a block by Fleischer and Klingbeil but Purdue Fort Wayne closed out the set.
 
The visitors were up 6-5 before scoring four straight. The Saints picked up points on Purdue Fort Wayne service errors and got as close as 11-7. The Mastodons edged out to a 17-8 advantage until the Saints went on a 5-1 run. Klingbeil sandwiched kills around one by Ganev. After one point, Ganev recorded a kill and a service ace to trim the deficit to 18-13. Maryville closed to 22-17 on another Ganev kill but Purdue Fort Wayne scored the final three points. The Saints hit .333 in the set, their best percentage of the match.
 
Statistical Leaders
Kills: Caden Klingbeil - 9
Hitting Percentage: Jacob Fischer - .375
Assists: Cameron Chambers - 14
Digs: Cameron Chambers and Josh Zhuchenko - 3
Blocks: David Fleischer - 2
Service Aces: David Fleischer and Victor Ganev - 1
 
Records
Maryville: 2-7
Purdue Fort Wayne: 9-1
 
What's Next?
Maryville is back on the court Friday, Feb. 10, as they host Central State for a match at 8 p.m. in Moloney Arena.