The St. John Fisher College volleyball program dropped a five-set thriller to East-Avenue rival Nazareth College on Wednesday in a pivotal Empire 8 Conference matchup at Fisher's Bobby Wanzer Court.
 
With the win, Nazareth improves to 14-3 overall and 4-0 in the Empire 8, while Fisher drops to 7-13, 1-2.

Fisher looked unstoppable in the opening set, cruising to a 25-16 win in the first game.  In the second set, Nazareth jumped out to the early lead, but Fisher battled back to tie the match at 23s, only to have the Golden Flyers earn the final two points.

Fisher jumped out to an 11-3 lead in the third set and led 24-22 before Nazareth rattled off four straight points for the 26-24 win.

The fourth set featured 16 ties and four lead changes before Fisher earned the 30-28 win.  In the final set, Nazareth led 12-7, but Fisher answered with five straight points to tie the match.   With the match tied at 13s, Nazareth sealed the win with two consecutive points.

For Fisher, freshman Madison Karwas led the Cardinals with a career-high 21 kills, while adding 10 digs and three blocks.   Classmate Anna Marcy totaled 13 kills and 12 digs.  

Paige Willson finished with eight kills and three blocks, while Amanda Miller also tallied three blocks.

Brooke Meader led Fisher with 27 assists, while Erin Crandall led her team with 25 digs and four aces.

Megan Miller also chipped in with eight kills, while Katie Mazierski notched 12 digs.

Fisher returns to action at 10 a.m. on Saturday and will host Stevens Institute of Technology.