St. Louis – In a battle of Saints, Maryville men's volleyball toppled Thomas More Friday evening 27-29, 25-17, 25-22, 25-19. Joe Nicometo led the way with 13 kills and added eight digs, while Victor Ganev finished with 11 kills. Cameron Chambers handed out 34 assists, while Jacob Fischer and David Fleischer finished with five blocks apiece.
 
Thomas More recap                  
The opening set was close throughout but Maryville led 21-19. TMU scored three straight for a 22-21 edge. The teams traded the lead and chances for set point as the contest moved into extra points. Maryville was up 27-26 but Thomas More tallied three straight to take the opener.
 
Set two was tied at 13-13 before two TMU errors around a block by Fischer and Drew Rogers put Maryville up 16-13. The hosts were up 20-17 before scoring five straight to even the match. Ganev started the run with a kill and had a block. After a Fleischer ace, TMU committed back-to-back errors as Maryville tied the score at 1-1.
 
Down in set three 18-17, Nicometo had a kill that started a 4-1 run by Maryville. Rogers and Fleischer followed with a block, and Nicometo finished another point. The squads alternated points as Maryville still was up 23-22. However, Thomas More had a service error, and a ball handling miscue gave Maryville a 25-22 win.
 
The home squad held a 12-11 edge in the fourth and looked to close out the match. Maryville took control with a dominating 6-0 run that effectively ended the contest. Fleisher's kill started the run, and after a TMU error, Nicometo served back-to-back aces. TMU committed a hitting error, and a kill by Fleischer pushed Maryville up 18-11. Thomas More cut the deficit down to two but Maryville scored the final four points of the set to finish the match.

Statistical Leaders
Kills: Joe Nicometo - 13
Hitting Percentage: David Fleischer - .556
Assists: Cameron Chambers - 34
Service Aces: Cameron Chambers - 3
Digs: Josh Zhuchenko - 9
Blocks: Jacob Fischer and David Fleischer - 5
 
Records
Maryville: 10-14
Thomas More: 12-11
 
What's Next?
The Saints are right back in action Saturday, March 25, as they host Judson for a 7 p.m. match in Moloney Arena.