VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – The St. John Fisher men's volleyball team (9-9) fell in five sets (25-20, 13-25, 20-25, 25-19, 11-15) to Virginia Wesleyan (16-3) on Thursday night at Towne Bank Arena for its fourth loss in its last five matches. 

How It Happened 

The Cardinals fell behind by a handful of points early in the opening frame but found their groove with a 10-1 win that put them in front 15-10. Fisher totaled seven blocks in the set and had six of them during that surge. 

Virginia Wesleyan went on a run of its own to pull within one, 20-19, but Fisher outscored the Marlins 5-1 down the stretch to finish off a 25-20 victory. Freshman outside hitter Avery Kielbasinski and junior middle blocker Connor Holmes each smashed three kills in the first set, while junior middle blocker Guillermo Perez totaled four block assists and one block solo. Senior outside hitter Casey Jackson had two of the Cardinals' three service aces. 

The Marlins dominated the Cardinals in the second set, hammering 11 kills while hitting .346 en route to a 25-13 win. JaMarhe Wills had six kills on 10 swings for a .600 hitting percentage, and Fisher struggled offensively with just five kills and eight errors on 29 attacks. Marlins setter Ajaye Davis finished the frame with 11 assists. 

St. John Fisher faired better offensively in the third set – the Cardinals had 12 kills while hitting .294 – but it wasn't enough to keep pace with a scorching Virginia Wesleyan attack. The Marlins piled up a spectacular 22 kills while hitting .500 in a 25-20 win. The Cardinals once again struggled to contain Wills, who had seven more kills on 10 attacks. James Cromwell-Young and Grant Younie each had four kills, and Davis tallied 14 assists. 

The Cardinals extended the match with a 25-19 victory in the fourth set, in which Virginia Wesleyan cooled off significantly, hitting in the negatives with 12 errors. Fisher separated after the Marlins pulled within three, 18-15, with a 5-0 burst that made the score 23-15. 

Sophomore outside hitter Coleton Welter led the Cardinals with five kills and hit .500 in the frame. Holmes aced a pair of serves. 

Virginia Wesleyan regained its hot-hitting offense in a 15-11 fifth-set win, which it opened on an 11-3 run. The Cardinals showed some fight with an 8-3 push to cut their deficit to 14-11, but the match ended unceremoniously on a service error. 

Wills spiked four more kills to finish the night with 20 on a .283 hitting percentage. Virginia Wesleyan had nine kills and hit over .300 as a team in the frame. 

Game Notes

• Welter led the Cardinals with a season-high 10 kills on a .318 hitting percentage. 

• Perez accounted for a team-high 13.5 points on seven kills and nine total blocks, including two solo. His nine total blocks marked a career high. 

• Holmes aced a career-high three serves. 

• Barone tallied 20 assists, the most he's had in a match at St. John Fisher. 

Up Next

The Cardinals face Averett University and Regent University at 4 and 6 p.m. on Friday.