PITTSFORD, N.Y. – The St. John Fisher College men's volleyball team won in straight-sets (25-18, 25-15, 25-8) over the Elmira College Soaring Eagles in a United Volleyball Conference matchup at Manning and Napier Varsity Gymnasium on Wednesday night. With the win, Fisher improves to 15-4 overall and 3-1 in conference play.
The Cardinals, ranked ninth in the NVA/AVCA Division III Coaches Poll, were led by junior
Martin Hackford who tallied a program-record eight service aces in the match. The Orchard Park native entered tonight leading the UVC in aces per set.
Josh Bigford had a game-high 11 kills while hitting .455 in the match.
Paul Hackford led all players with 30 assists and seven digs.
Eric Bentivegna had a strong performance with tying a career-high seven total blocks and adding seven kills.
Martin Hackford's career-night started off right with four aces in an early 6-0 run that put Fisher up 7-4. The Cardinals ran away with the rest of the set to win by seven.
Fisher went on a seven-point run early in the second stanza with
Martin Hackford serving that made it an 8-2 game in favor of the home team. Elmira was able to cut the deficit to four but not any closer as the Cardinals kept pushing ahead. A 6-1 run for Fisher closed out the set.
Matt Beiter stepped up to the service line to start the third set. The freshman led a six-point onslaught to put the Cardinals in the driver's seat. Another six-point swing with three more aces coming from
Martin Hackford gave Fisher a 14-2 advantage. The Cardinals coasted the rest of the way with eight of the final nine points to close the book on the night.
As a team, Fisher had 12 aces in the match. This was the third-straight victory for the Cardinals against the Soaring Eagles.
Martin Hackford earned eight kills and four to go along with his monster service day.
Matt Broderick posted seven kills and four digs.
Next on the schedule for the Cardinals is the Battle of the Beaks as they head to Nazareth College for a conference tilt next Wednesday at 7 p.m.
