PITTSFORD, N.Y. – The St. John Fisher College men's volleyball team opened up its 2019 season on Friday evening in front of a packed crowd for the second annual Cardinal Classic. The Cardinals fell to the Wentworth Institute of Technology in a hard-fought five sets 25-22, 19-25, 25-27, 25-20, 15-12. Fisher would then wrap up the night with a loss to No. 4 Kean University 19-25, 22-25, 25-27. With the two defeats, the Cardinals fall to 0-2 overall while Wentworth and Kean both improved their record to 1-1 and 2-0 respectively. 

The Fisher offense did not waste any time, as the Cardinals hit for 11 kills and only three errors in its opening set of the season. Freshman Josh Bigford and junior Matt Broderick led the charge in the first set with three kills apiece, while the Cardinals were hit a solid .296 as a team to help take the first set win.

Both sides battled back-and-forth for the entirety of both the second and third sets, however Wentworth was able to work its way to a two sets to none lead. Broderick one again notched a team-high five kills in the third set, while Bigford added another four kills in the highly competitive third set.

The Cardinals were able to battle back in the fourth set against the Leopards, using a late three-point scoring run as well as scoring the final six points of the set to force a deciding fifth.

As the fifth set wore on, both sides continued to battle back-and-forth eventually leading to a 12-12 tie on the scoreboard.  From there, the Leopards would score the final three points to earn their first win of the season.

In the teams opening match of the 2019 campaign, Bigford and Broderick led the way with 15 kills apiece, while Kevin Cahill added another seven kills. Sophomore Paul Hackford handled the setting duties and finished with 39 assists and nine digs. Libero David Cerqua led the way defensibly with a team-high 13 digs.

Versus No. 4 Kean, the Cardinals fell victim to an early scoring run in the first set that would put them behind 10-2 early in their second matchup of the night. From there, the teams traded a pair of scoring runs, however the early deficit was too much for Fisher in the end. Bigford led the Cardinals once again with three kills in the opening set.

Back-and-forth action started off the second set, as both sides battled to an eventual 12-12 tie. Moving forward, Kean was able to use a 9-1 scoring run to gain a late 21-14 advantage.  The Cardinals would battle back, using a five-point scoring run to cut the Cougar lead to just two. However, a Kean kill would earn them the second set victory and a two set advantage.

In the third set it was Fisher to pull ahead midway through, as kills from Ivan Lopez and Paul Hackford put Fisher ahead 19-15. However, Kean was able to gain some late momentum and use a final three-point run to finish off the game in straight sets.

Bigford led the way for the Cardinals in the second match with a team-high eight kills, while Martin Hackford would add four kills. Paul Hackford finished with 21 assists and Cerqua pitched in six digs.

Due to the forecasted weather on Saturday, the remainder of the Cardinal Classic has been cancelled.  Fisher's next contest will take place at 8 p.m. on January 25th when the Cardinals head to Hiram Ohio to duke it out with Concordia (Wis.)