Huntingdon, P.A. – The St. John Fisher College men's volleyball team fell victim to Penn State Behrend and Juniata College in its final two matches of the 2018 season on Saturday afternoon. The Cardinals fell to the Lions in straight sets 13-15, 18-25, 13-25, followed by a four-set match with Juniata falling 25-22, 22-25, 21-25, 16-25. The Cardinals finish their inaugural season at 13-16 overall, while Penn State Behrend improve to 14-11 overall and Juniata moves to 17-12 in 2018.

In the first match of the afternoon for Fisher, the visitors fell behind in the first set 16-10 after a 7-3 Lion run midway through the opening set. Two Mike Strumpfler kills tried to start a Fisher scoring run, however Behrend was able to hold on for the first set win.

Unlike the first set, back and forth action was seen for the first third of the second set as the scoreboard read 11-10 in favor of the Lions. Behrend however was able to grab the momentum and carry out a 13-3 run to help close out the second set and earn a two sets to none lead.

Much like the second set, the Lions were able to jump out to a 15-10 lead midway through the third set. Two kills from Kevin Cahill helped bring a spark to the Fisher side, however the Lions were able to hold off the Cardinals for a three-set victory.

In the Cardinals second math of the afternoon, Fisher fell to the host Juniata in four sets after taking the first set 25-22.

The Cardinals rallied to take the first set, after two four-point scoring runs, with one ending with a Joe Kenney kill to end the first set. The Fisher offense showed its power in the
first set, finishing with a very impressive 20 kills and only five errors for a .417 hitting percentage.

Juniata was able to regain the momentum in the second set, putting together a 9-1 run late in the set to tie the match up at one set apiece. The Eagles were able to take the momentum from the second set victory and were able to put together multiple four and five point runs in the third and fourth sets to help them to a three sets to one victory.

Strumpfler led the way offensively for the Cardinals finishing with 17 kills between the two matches, while Ben De La Cruz finished with 16 kills, with Joe Kenney and Cahill each adding 14 kills apiece.

Paul Hackford finished the two-set afternoon with 52 assists to go along with four kills and 13 total digs. Libero David Cerqua a team-high 19 digs throughout the two matches on Saturday.