St. Louis, MO – The Southwest Baptist men's volleyball team opened Great Lakes Valley Conference play against the Maryville University Saints, losing in three straight sets both Friday, March 6th and Saturday, March 7th (19-25, 15-25, 10-25; 16-25, 24-26, 18-25 respectively). The Bearcats' overall record is now 8-3 and 0-2 in conference.
 
Match 1: Following a historic preseason, winning 88.9% of their matches, SBU started their first ever conference season on the road against the Saints. While the game did not have a favorable outcome, the Bearcats battled hard the first set with a total of 5 lead changes and 11 score ties between the two teams. 
 
Match 2: Coming off a loss to the Saints the previous night, SBU had a chance to refocus and regroup to prepare for a rematch against Maryville. While the Bearcats were not able to pull off a win, they were more competitive. They nearly pulled off a second set win leading 23-22 but fell in the end 24-26. Freshman Donel Sengele led the team in both kills (12) and digs (9), being a big factor in the team's improvement from the previous night. Having now seen more difficult competition, SBU will now have a chance to adapt to the faster speed of play and fine tune their skills in preparation for future matches. 
 
The Bearcats will play their first home conference matches next weekend against Roosevelt University. The games will be held on Friday, March 13th at 6:00 PM followed on Saturday March 14th at 2:00 PM. To follow SBU's inaugural volleyball season and stay up to date on all things Bearcat Athletics follow our Instagram or go to sbubearcats.com to find updates and information about all other SBU athletics programs.