St. Louis – The Maryville men's volleyball team hit .311 en route to a season-opening 3-0 sweep of Kentucky State. The Saints posted a 25-11, 25-17, 25-16 Saturday afternoon in Moloney Arena. Luke Van Handel had five kills and hit .714, while Jacob Fischer also finished with five kills.
 
Kentucky State recap
Up 6-5 in the first set, the Saints reeled off three straight points for a 9-6 edge. Maryville still led 13-10 before storming away with 11 straight points. A Fischer kill ended the set at 25-11. The Saints defense held KSU to a -.200 hitting percentage.
 
In set two, Maryville slowly took a 12-8 but took control with four straight kills. Fischer started the run, and Van Handel finished off a point. After Makai Scott put down a pass, Caden Klingbeil pounded down another kill for a 16-8 margin. Another 3-0 gave the Saints their largest lead of the set at 19-10 and the Saints eased to the 2-0 lead.
 
The Saints took advantage of KSU miscues to build an 8-4 margin. Maryville's lead stood at 14-11 until the Saints embarked on a 7-0 burst. Following a Kentucky State service error that started the run, Jayden Rookhuyzen followed with a kill. Later in the run, after two straight kills by Victor Ganev, a KSU hitting miscue pushed the Saints on top 21-11. Maryville closed out the match on a Westin Roy kill.

Statistical Leaders
Kills: Jacob Fischer and Luke Van Handel - 5
Hitting Percentage: Luke Van Handel - .715
Assists: Cameron Chambers - 18
Service Aces: Cameron Chambers and David Fleischer - 1
Digs: Luke Van Handel - 7
Blocks: David Fleischer - 4
 
Records
Maryville: 1-0
Kentucky State: 0-2
 
What's Next?
The Saints head out on the road for the first time as they play at Illinois Institute of Technology Thursday, Jan. 18.