ST. LOUIS, Mo. – The Mount Union men's volleyball team (21-2, 14-2 MCVL) defeat the Lions of Mount St. Joseph (12-5, 12-4 MCVL) 3-1 in the semifinals match of the Midwest Collegiate Volleyball League tournament with set scores of 25-15, 26-24, 25-22, 29-27. 

The Purple Raiders were led by junior Mark Bruns (Columbus / Upper Arlington) who had 6 kills in the first set on 7 attempts from the first set and continued to finish off the match with 16. Junior Jeremy Leyden (Cuyahoga Falls / Akron Hoban) continued dishing out assists as he tallied up 43 on the night. Defensively, junior libero Steven Grenier (Hawthorn Woods, Ill. / Lake Zurich) led the way collecting 22 digs. The Raiders also had a block party as they tallied up 13 on the match which was led by sophomore Andrew Cross (St. Louis, Mo. / St. Louis University High) who matched his career-high with eight. 

Bruns got the match going with back-to-back kills to kick start the match. The Raiders took an early 10-5 lead forcing a Lions timeout off another kill by Bruns. Mount Union continued to take advantage of errors from the Lions extending their lead to 18-9 to force another Mount St. Joseph timeout. The Raiders took advantage of the timeout as sophomore Cameron Ternent (Canal Fulton / Massillon Jackson) found a gap in the Lion defense to take an ace. The Lions went on a short 4-1 run to chip away at the Raider lead at 20-13, but Mount Union was able to put away the first set 25-15 off a block from Cross followed by an attack error by the Lions. 

Mount Union took charge in the second set going on a 6-0 run sparked again by a kill from Bruns which forced the Lions to want to regroup. The Raiders didn't settle down as they had back-to-back blocks to extend their lead to 8-0. A kill by Cross kept the Raiders going with a 13-4 lead. The Lions went on a 7-1 run to get back in the set at 16-12 and continued to rally as they came within one of the Raiders at 17-16. Three straight kills from the Raiders helped stop the damage and regain a 20-16 lead and force a Lions timeout. A block from Cross and Leyden kept the Raiders going strong off the timeout, but the Lions came back within two at 23-21 off a service ace. The Lions rallied to knot it up at 24-24 and forced a Purple Raider timeout. A kill by senior Justin Sibbel (Stow / Stow-Munroe Falls) followed by an attack error from the Lions resulted in a 26-24 set two for the Raiders. 

In set three Bruns again got the Raiders on the board with a kill to make it 1-1. The Raiders kept the set tight but trailed for the greater beginning portion of the set. Mount Union found some momentum off an ace from Sibbel to claim their first lead of the set at 11-10. The Lions started to drift away from the Raiders but a kill from Cross had them behind by three at 18-15. Raiders took a timeout to regroup as they trailed 22-18, but a kill by junior Sam Matonis (Macedonia / Walsh Jesuit) followed by an attack error from the Lions got the Raiders back within two at 22-20. Back-to-back kills from Ternent kept the Raiders alive on the Lions setpoint 24-22 and forced a Mount St. Joseph timeout. The Lions came off the timeout and found a kill to force a fourth set as they secured the 25-22 set win. 

The Raiders trailed early but a block from Cross and Ternent knotted things up at 3-3, and back-to-back kills from Sibbel extended the Raider lead to 6-4. The Lions quickly rallied back to reclaim their lead at 8-6 forcing an early Mount Union timeout. Cross came out of the timeout securing a kill for the Raiders with authority at 8-7. Both teams kept things tight throughout the middle portion of the set as it was knotted up on five occasions. The Lions sparked a 4-0 run to go up 19-15 and force the Raiders to regroup on a timeout. The Raiders responded with a block from Matonis and a kill from Bruns to come back within two at 19-17. An attack error by the Lions knotted it back up late at 23-23, and a block from Cross and Sibbel again ties it up at 24-24 followed by an ace from Cross gives them the late lead at 25-24 and forces a Lion timeout. The teams remained tight going into extra volleyball, but Mount Union rallied off a kill from Bruns followed by an attack error by the Lions to take the set 29-27 and win the match at 3-1. 

Mount Union stays alive and will advance in the MCVL tournament championship match which will occur at 4 pm EST tomorrow afternoon at Mabee Gymnasium located on Fontbonne University's campus.