NEW PALTZ, N.Y. – The St. John Fisher College men's volleyball team split a pair of matches on Saturday afternoon versus No. 9 SUNY New Paltz and Eastern Mennonite. With the one win and one loss, Fisher moves to 17-9 overall on the season, while the Hawks improve to 16-6 and the Royals fall to 3-16 overall.

In its United Volleyball Conference matchup with No. 9 New Paltz, Fisher fell in three sets 18-25, 22-25, 20-25. The Cardinals as a team totaled 30 kills and eight blocks throughout the match.

Both sides battled back-and-forth as the first set got underway as a Dylan Urbanski service ace pulled Fisher to within three midway through the set. From there however, the Hawks were able to use a five-point scoring run to its advantage, taking a late 22-14 lead and eventually a one set to none advantage.

Despite 13 total kills and a .333 overall hitting percentage in the second set, the Cardinals were unable to hold off New Paltz as the Hawks totaled 14 kills and an average hitting percentage of .357.
In the second set, Martin Hackford and Matt Broderick each tallied four kills, while Urbanksi notched 10 assists.

The Hawk offense continued to roll in the third set as New Paltz wrapped up the match with 17 kills in the final set, while the Cardinals finished with eight kills and only one error.

Broderick and Josh Bigford led the way offensively in the first match of the day, finishing with seven kills apiece. Mike Strumpfler added three blocks, while David Cerqua finished with a team-high six digs.

Fisher finished off the afternoon with a four-set victory over Eastern Mennonite 25-15, 21-25, 25-22, 25-12.

The Cardinal offense exploded in the first set, totaling 12 kills and a .409 hitting percentage to start off the second match. Fisher was able to use a 5-0 run midway through the set, eventually taking a 19-8 advantage in route to a first set win.

After back-and-forth action started off the second set, the Royals were able to rally and use two four-point rallies to their advantage to knot the matchup back up at one set apiece.

After falling in the second set, Fisher batted it way back in the third set as Bigford led the way with six kills. The Cardinals outlasted the 16 kills from the Royals to take home the third set win, with 13 kills of their own.

As the fourth set got underway, it was all Fisher from the start as the Cardinals jumped out to a 15-5 lead with the help of a 5-0 run with Justin Prichard at the service line. As the set continued, the Cardinals continued to cruise along as a kill from Avery Terroso capped off the four set victory.

Bigford again led the way with a game-high 18 kills and Kevin Cahill pitched in eight. Urbanski finished with another game-high 35 assists, while Strumpfler added another two blocks.

The Cardinals return to action on Friday at 7 p.m. when they welcome Sage to Manning & Napier Varsity Gymnasium for another UVC matchup.