Men's volleyball opens with record-setting night

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa -- It was one for the history books on Tuesday night as the 15th-ranked Mount Mercy men's volleyball team shattered school records for service aces and attack percentage while routing Maranatha Baptist in a non-conference doubleheader at Hennessey Recreation Center.

The Mustangs delivered a school-record 20 service aces in match number one as they cruised to a 25-6, 25-11, 25-7 sweep of the Sabercats (0-8). Seven players recorded at least two aces, including Maksymilian Cabajewski and Rustine Talaboc with three apiece. Alessandro Spendolini drilled 11 kills and Che Taylor six for a Mount Mercy offense that hit .468.

That program record for service aces didn't last long, however, as the Mustangs (2-0) racked up 25 in a 25-8, 25-7, 25-3 victory in match two. Entering the night, the previous mark was 14 aces in a match last season. Mount Mercy also hit .520, blitzing the previous school record for attack percentage (.479), also set during the 2022-23 season.

Current Mustang Kevin Fiedler and former standouts Lucas Rebula and Evan Gaskill shared the single-match record for service aces (6), but that one fell as well. Spendolini finished with nine and Cabajewski seven. Spendolini led the way again with 12 kills. Cabajewski had 26 assists following a 22-assist match in the opener.

Mount Mercy (2-0) is on the road on Thursday when they face Roosevelt at 6:00 pm at the Goodman Center in Chicago. Then the Mustangs are back home for two, including non-conference matchups with Morningside on Saturday at 2:00 pm and Viterbo on Tuesday at 6:00 pm at Hennessey Rec Center.