DALLAS, PA – The St. John Fisher University men's volleyball team sent a strong message by winning their first two games of the season, beating Misericordia University 3-0 and Cairn University 3-0.

Fisher 3, Cougars 0 

The first set started deadlocked at five before Fisher was able to go on an 8-2 run to take a 13-7 edge. The run included two kills from Gavin Newman and additional kills from Matt Beiter and Griffin Stella. While the Cougars crawled back to bring the deficit to within three, down 16-13, the Cardinals iced the first set by a 25-18 score behind an ace from Josh Bigford. 

The second set opened in similar fashion, with the Cardinals opening a 13-8 lead. The lead extended to eight at 18-10, behind costly attack errors from the Cougars. The Cardinals took the second set by a 25-18 margin.

The third set started with the Cardinals up 12-11, before a 10-3 run gave Fisher a comfortable 22-14 advantage. The stretch was led by first years Gabe La Robadiere and Casey Jackson. Jackson went on to finish the game with three kills and three service aces. Meanwhile, La Robadiere finished the contest with 10 kills and four digs. 

After the Cardinals took the third set by a 25-18 score again, winning 3-0, La Robadiere was asked his thoughts on his first career game. 

"It felt good to get the nerves out of the way and get the first win," said La Robadier, though he wanted to acknowledge, "we've got a long season ahead of us."

Fisher 3, Highlanders 0 

Fisher overwhelmed the Highlanders in three sets, winning 25-10, 25-18, and 25-17. The Cardinals finished with 17 kills in the second set compared to eight errors, a 0.250% clip. Across the win, the Cardinals would rack up 40 kills to 13 errors, good for a 0.325% hitting percentage. Meanwhile, Cairn struggled offensively against the Cardinals, finishing the loss with 16 kills and 16 errors across 70 attempts, a 0.000% hitting percentage. The Cardinals found success in the second game behind Bigford again; who led the Cardinals in kills (13) and aces (7), while adding two blocks. 

Stella added six kills and four blocks in the win, adjusting from the first game of the day "by focusing on the next play one at a time." When the Cardinals return to action tomorrow, Stella will seek to "[remain] disciplined on blocking while also making sure [he] is available in transition." 

According to Stella, Matt Cohen, who was recently named the head coach of the Men's Volleyball team, "fit in well, giving feedback and making sure that even when the team was up big we didn't let up, ensuring the intensity of the game was high."

Fisher will look to continue their success tomorrow, as the Cardinals head to Long Island, to take on St. Joseph's College Long Island (0-0) at 11 a.m. and #4 Stevens Institute of Technology (1-0) at 1 p.m. 

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