Men's Volleyball | 3/30/2021 9:58:00 PM

PITTSFORD, N.Y. – In a battle of two of the top programs in Division III, the nationally-ranked St. John Fisher College men's volleyball team grinded out a five-set win over No. 13 Nazareth College, 22-25, 25-22, 19-25, 25-22, 15-11, on Tuesday night in a United Volleyball Conference matchup inside Manning and Napier Varsity Gymnasium on Bobby Wanzer Court.  With the win, Fisher, which is ranked sixth in the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association poll, moved to 7-3 on the season and claimed first place in the UVC standings at 5-1.  Nazareth, which had won three of its last four matches entering Tuesday's pairing, fell to 5-4 overall and 4-2 against conference competition.

Prior to the match, the Cardinals honored their six seniors who have been a part of the team since its inaugural season in 2018. A ceremony was held to honor and thank David Cerqua, Eric Bentivegna, Max Thurston, Brandon Cox-Bagley, Avery Terroso and Paul Hackford.

Ivan Lopez led the way for Fisher at the net with 13 kills and a .409 hitting percentage as the junior middle blocker accounted for 10 block assists in the win.  Josh Bigford added 12 kills and 14 digs while senior libero Cerqua finished with 20 digs to his name to move within 21 digs of 1,000 for his career.  Dylan Urbanski handed out 48 assists in the win while Matt Beiter chipped in with eight kills, two aces, a solo block and three block assists in five sets. 

After falling in the first set, Fisher and Nazareth jockeyed for the lead in the second set as the advantage changed sides three times until both teams were knotted at 15-15.  From there, back-to-back kills from Terroso and Bigford staked the home team to a 17-15 edge, but the Golden Flyers clawed their way back into contention and leveled the score at 19 aside.

With the frame even, Bigford hammered home two straight kills, but Nazareth answered with two points of its own as Fisher called a timeout to regroup. As the set wore on, Fisher would score four of the final five points including a triple block from Terroso, Lopez and Urbanski to forge ahead, 25-22.

After splitting the third and fourth frames, Fisher and Nazareth readied for a fifth and deciding frame as the Cardinals won the toss and earned the first serve.  Both teams looked sharp in the early going as the set remained even at 6-6 before two straight kills from Jake Baker pushed the Cardinals ahead by two.

Both teams continued to battle at the net down the stretch with Nazareth pulling to within one, 11-10, but Fisher's size proved to be too much for the Golden Flyers as the Cardinals accounted for two blocks and two kills over the final five points to hold on for the 15-11 win.

Fisher will have an opportunity to clinch the top overall seed in the upcoming UVC Championship at 4 p.m. on Friday when it travels to Elmira to take on No. 4 Vassar College in a pair of conference matches.