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 came up short against No. 7 Rutgers-Newark as the Cardinals fell in four sets to close out the Fisher Invite inside Manning and Napier Varsity Gymnasium on Bobby Wanzer Court.  With the loss, Fisher, which is ranked 14th in the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association poll, dipped to 10-3 on the year while the Scarlet Raiders improved to 8-1.

Josh Bigford and Jake Baker led the way for Fisher with 13 kills each to go along with five and six digs, respectively.  Griffin Stella had six kills and a career-high seven blocks in the middle while Matt Beiter provided four kills and five blocks.  Matt Cieplicki had four kills of his own paired with four blocks and three digs while Paul Hackford dished out 24 assists and was credited with 11 digs in the loss.

Both teams looked the part in the early goings of the opening set as the match remained deadlocked at 13 points aside.  The Scarlet Raiders would push ahead following a service error by the Cardinals, but Fisher regrouped and scored four unanswered points including an ace by Baker to open up a 17-14 edge.

Trailing by three, Rutgers-Newark battled back and eventually jumped ahead, 19-18, before Fisher responded with a 7-2 burst highlighted by three kills from Bigford to earn a 25-21 win.

After falling in the second set by an identical score, Fisher looked to rebound in the third frame, but the Scarlet Knights put their host in a quick 10-8 hole.  Down by two, head coach Stephen England's squad orchestrated a 4-1 run fueled by back-to-back kills from Baker and Bigford to make it 12-11 in the home team's favor.

From there, both teams traded points as the set wore on until the visitors strung together three quick points to hold a 20-18 advantage.  The Cardinals recovered following a Rutgers-Newark error and a kill from Baker, but the Scarlet Raiders closed out the frame with five of the final six points to claim a two-set lead.

In the fourth, Fisher fought back from an 8-4 deficit to pull to within one, 13-12, courtesy of three straight errors from Rutgers-Newark. The Cardinals remained within striking distance until the visitors returned the favor with three unanswered points of their own to make it 18-14.

Facing a four-point deficit, the Cardinals would climb back into contention after cutting the lead down to one, but the home team ran out of steam down the stretch with Rutgers-Newark hammering home two straight kills to earn the top-15 victory.

As a team, Fisher hit .194 in the loss.  The Cardinals were a force at the net, however, with a season-high 13.0 total blocks overall.

The Cardinals will have another tough test at 7 p.m. on Wednesday when they make the short trek down East Avenue to take on the No. 13 Nazareth College Golden Flyers.