Columbus, Ohio – The Maryville University men's volleyball team closed out the regular season with a difficult challenge at No. 10 Ohio State, and the Buckeyes proved worthy of their ranking with a 25-10, 25-16, 25-13 victory over the Saints. Luke Kraft led the Saints with six kills, while Jacob Fischer hit .556 with five kills.
 
Ohio State recap
The Saints cut the Ohio State lead to 5-4 on a David Fleischer kill. OSU was still only up 6-5 but scored eight straight points. Kraft's kill stopped the run by the Buckeyes as the Saints scored two of three points to pull back to 15-7. Ohio State pushed the margin over double digits before a Kraft kill made it 18-8. However, that would be as close as the Saints would get.
 
The second set saw kills from Fischer and Cameron Lee give the Saints an early 2-1 edge. Later, back-to-back OSU errors put Maryville up 5-4. The score was still tied at 6-all before OSU edged up to an 8-7 lead and eventually an 11-7 mark. The teams traded points as a Fischer kill cut the deficit to 13-10. Ohio State scored six of the next seven points to build a small margin. Maryville went on a 3-1 run to close the gap to 20-15 on a Fischer termination. The Buckeyes scored five of the final six points to close the set.
 
A kill by Fischer tied set three 3-3 until OSU tallied four straight. The Saints scored a point but the Buckeyes tacked on a 3-0 burst. A Lee kill and OSU error pulled Maryville back to within 11-6. The Saints were only down 14-8 before Ohio State scored four straight. Maryville tallied two of the next three points on finishes by Fischer and Kraft but the Saints never got any closer.
 
Statistical Leaders
Kills: Luke Kraft - 6
Hitting Percentage: Jacob Fischer - .556
Assists: Cameron Chambers - 16
Service Aces: none
Digs: Zac Clark - 5
Blocks: none
 
Records
Maryville: 21-5
Ohio State: 19-8
 
What's Next?
The Saints head to Crestview Hills, Ky., for the IVA Tournament hosted by Thomas More University.