Men's Volleyball | 1/20/2023 11:02:00 AM

PITTSFORD, NY – The St. John Fisher University men's volleyball team (3-1) will continue their 2023 campaign with four more games on the road this week. After dropping only to #4 Stevens this past weekend, Fisher will look to pad their overall record in the SUNY Poly Wildcat Invitational.

The Cardinals will play at SUNY Polytechnic Institute of Technology this weekend, and will take on #3 Wenworth Institute of Technology on Friday, Jan. 20 at 2 p.m. before a nightcap against SUNY Potsdam at 8 p.m. Fisher will matchup against Misericordia University for the second time in a week on Saturday, Jan. 21 at 1 p.m. before finishing their weekend against Nichols College at 5 p.m.

Scouting the Opponents
The Cardinals will match up against the #3 Wentworth Leopards in their first game of the weekend. The game will be a rematch of the first round of the 2022 NCAA tournament, when Wentworth ended the Cardinals historic season, dealing a 3-0 loss. The Cardinals were unable to hold down the first set after rattling off five unanswered points to take a 13-10 edge. The Leopards were able to carry their momentum into the second set en route to a 25-22 win, and would take an early 6-5 lead in set three. Wentworth would create separation by stringing together three unanswered points to take a 24-21 edge. While the Cardinals fought down to the wire, a kill from the Leopards ended the contest 25-23.

Fisher topped Misericordia 3-0 on Sat. Jan. 14. In the win, the Cardinals hit 0.304 with 35 kills and 14 errors across 69 attempts. The Cardinals limited Misericordia to a hitting percentage of 0.078 across 23 kills and 18 errors. To read more about the win, visit the game recap.

The matchup against SUNY Potsdam and Nichols College with mark the first time in programmatic history that the two teams have met. When the Cardinals take on Nichols, they will be met by the familiar faces in Dylan Urbanski. Urbaniski played with the Cardinals from 2019-2021 and was named an honorable mention all-conference in 2021 after handing out the conference's second most assists (407) over 55 sets. With 750 assists tallied across the three seasons played, Urbanski ranks second in career assists, behind only Paul Hackford.

Access off the Court
Sophomore libero Trace La Robardiere sat down with the Sports Information Team to provide access off the court on his thoughts on the 2023 campaign. This season, La Robardiere has been credited with 27 digs and 14 assists across 15 sets played.

Q. Your brother, Gabe La Robardiere was just named Empire 8 Rookie of the Week. Can you talk about being able to play with your brother collegiately?
A. I've been fortunate to have already played with Gabe back in high school, but it's a lot easier now to play together because he is a lot better. My senior year, the main year I would have played with him was cut short because of the pandemic, but I'm excited to have fun with him in college. It'll be pretty cool to have our family be able to watch us both.

Q. The team was dealt a tough loss against #4 Stevens this weekend. How does the team go into this week preparing for a rematch the team who ended your season in the NCAA tournament, #3 Wentworth?
A. We really need to just hit the reset button. We played well this weekend, but need to be able to open our offense more. I think we will have a competitive game against Wentworth because we'll have the adrenaline rush of the rematch and the first game of the weekend. I also think we are a scrappy team this year and I think it can a difference in the outcome.

Q. Across the many gyms you have played in collegiately, do you have a favorite or a least favorite and why?
A. My favorite gym is here at home; I think we have great fans and the lighting is really high. With it being so high, we're able to get more balls up which is huge. I would have to say that I struggled with the lighting this past weekend at St. Joseph's College and found the ceilings to be a little low, but they each gym is always going to have a different setup.

My favorite memory playing here was last year for our senior night against Naz, which we were able to secure in five. There was a great environment and the stands were packed.

Q. How did you get involved playing volleyball?
A. Back home, my best friend's Mom told a group of us to just get out there and start trying volleyball, which was around 8^th or 9^th grade. The best advice I've gotten has been to not let the ball drop.

Q. Final question: You are following in the steps of David Cerqua, longtime libero with the Cardinals who was part of the inaugural team. Can you talk about your growth across your college experience and what you hope your career to look like?
A. I don't know if I have many expectations, but I want to win. I want to go deep in the tournament, making a final four appearance.

Players to Watch
Josh Bigford was awarded Empire 8 player of the week after beginning the season by slamming 54 kills on a .381 hitting percentage to go along with 14 digs, 10 service aces and 10 blocks in a 3-1 week for the No. 9 Cardinals. Bigford, who averaged 4.67 points per set on the week, started the season with 11 kills in a three-set win over Misericordia on Saturday. He hit .478 with 13 kills and seven services in a three-set win over Cairn. On Sunday, Bigford hit .380 with 23 kills and four blocks in a five-set win over St. Joseph's.

Meanwhile, Gabe La Robardiere was credited as the Empire 8 Rookie of Week, after beginning his collegiate career by slamming 32 kills to go along with nine blocks for a 41.5-point week in a 3-1 week for the No. 9 Cardinals. He had 10 kills in his collegiate debut versus Misericordia Saturday and added 13 more while hitting .417 in a five-set win over St. Joseph's Sunday. La Robardiere led the Cardinals with eight kills in a four-set loss to No. 4 Stevens later in the day.

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