Maryknoll's Zachary Franquez puts down a kill attempt against Saint Louis. Franquez had a game-high nine kills in the win over the Crusaders. Greg Yamamoto | SL

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Led by a game-high nine kills by outside hitter Zachary Franquez and an efficient offense run by setter Andrew Caraang, Maryknoll swept past host Saint Louis, 25-14, 25-14.

Franquez's number was called early and often in the match, particularly in the first set, where he put down five kills to go along with a block and an ace.

"He's key, senior leadership on the court, off the court," said Maryknoll head coach David Bayne. "He's been helping everybody be where they need to be and take control of the game, He's kind of a calming factor that's really helpful for our team."

With the score knotted at 3-all in the early stages, the Spartans broke away in the first set thanks to a 11-2 scoring advantage capped off by a Franquez ace.

The Maryknoll lead ballooned to a large as 13 at 23-10, before Saint Louis rallied with a mini 3-0 spurt to close the gap to 23-13, but the Spartans ultimately closed out the game with a Jaylen Cain kill to win the first, 25-14.

The second set was scripted very much like the first, with the Spartans out front 14-6 following Franquez's eighth kill of the evening.

A Lance Sataraka kill brought Saint Louis to within 14-10, and the Crusaders kept to within four points of the Spartans until the 18-14 mark of the set, where Maryknoll scored the last seven points to take the set and the match.

Caraang dished out 23 assists and added two kills and two blocks for the Spartans, who improved to 5-3 in league play. Five Maryknoll hitters notched at least three kills in the match.

"Setter is the key, he's our quarterback. We've been working with him all year and spreading it out, making defense guess and he's getting there," said Bayne. "He's growing along the way, it's been a good growing process."

Cain put down six kills and Aiden Velasco added four more in the win. Hayato Kamata and middle blocker Chad Bolte had three kills each.

"We want that to be our primary attack, if the pass is there we want him (Bolte) to run it," said Bayne of the role he's looking for Bolte to play in the Spartans' attack. "We know he's there, both of our middles our big and they get up, so we try utilize them as much as possible. Not only for offense, they put up a solid block too."

Lance Sataraka notched five kills and a block for the Crusaders (0-9).