ST. LOUIS – In the inaugural match of Great Lakes Valley Conference play, the Maryville men's volleyball team cruised past Southwest Baptist 25-19, 25-15, 25-10. Makai Scott paced the attack with 11 kills while hitting .474, and Luke Martinez drilled down eight kills on just 11 swings for a .636 hitting percentage. The Saints hit .388 as a team while holding SBU to an .039 mark. The win is Maryville's sixth straight on the season.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Set one was tied at 14-14 before the Saints surged with four straight points. Aidan Whitemountain had two kills, while Martinez and Jake Usher finished two plays for an 18-14 lead. SBU tallied a point but committed three straight kills for a 21-15 advantage. SBU got to within four points but Scott and a block by Usher and AJ Robateau ended the set.
 
Maryville burst out of the gates by scoring six of the first seven points. Usher served an opening ace and Martinez followed with a kill. An SBU error made it 3-0. Two more SBU miscues and a kill by Scott put the Saints up 6-1. Still leading 14-10, the Saints tacked on five straight points, capped by an Usher kill for 19-10. Leading 20-12, Robateau and Peter Soczewka had kills, and a block made it 23-12 as the Saints went on for a 25-15 win.
 
Set three saw the Saints grab a 4-1 lead. Maryville's margin was still 7-4 until the Saints reeled off seven consecutive points. Robateau had a kill and SBU committing a hitting error. After a Whitemountain kill, Scott served consecutive aces. Robateau and Scott had kills to make it 14-4. The Saints used another 4-0 run to grab an 18-6 advantage. The lead never dipped below 10 points and a Scott kill at match point ended the first GLVC contest.

STATISTICAL LEADERS
Kills: Makai Scott - 11
Hitting Percentage: Luke Martinez - .636
Assists: Jake Usher - 25
Service Aces: Makai Scott - 3
Digs: Jayden Rookhuyzen - 7
Blocks: AJ Robateau - 3
 
RECORDS
Maryville: 6-5, 1-0 GLVC
Southwest Baptist: 8-2, 0-1 GLVC
 
What's Next?
The Saints and Bearcats collide again Saturday, March 7, in a 2 p.m. first serve in Moloney Arena.