CINCINNATI, Ohio -- The Siena Heights men's volleyball team dropped a 3-2 thriller to Saint Xavier (Ill.) in an NAIA Great Lakes Division Tournament quarterfinal on Friday at Cincinnati Christian (Ohio).
Gilius Blinstrubas led the fifth-seeded Saints (12-12) with 20 kills, 10 digs and eight aces. Tyler Hubbard-Neil added 12 kills and 12 digs for SHU, which won the first two sets, 25-19, 27-25, before dropping the last three, 25-19, 27-25, 15-8.
Also for Siena Heights, Arthur Mattje Gwoszdz had 41 assists and 11 digs while Zak Krug came through with 15 digs.
The Saints took 3-1 and 3-0 leads in the first and second sets, respectively, and led the rest of the way in each.
In set three, Saint Xavier snapped a 17-all tie with a seven-point run. A back-and-forth fourth set went extra points before the Cougars (12-14) emerged with a 27-25 victory.
SXU took command early in the fifth set, going ahead 9-2 and holding off SHU.
Sean Barry led the Cougars with 16 points and 10 digs. Sam Kull added 12 kills, 14 total blocks and four aces. Dominic Villa added 14 digs.
With the loss, the Saints end their season with their first-ever .500 season in program history.