PITTSFORD, NY – The No. 5 St. John Fisher University men's volleyball team (12-3) topped the University of Mount Union Purple Raiders (9-3) in three sets (25-23, 25-23, 25-23) completing a perfect 3-0 weekend as part of the Fisher Invite.
 
The Cardinals came out strong in the first set, using two kills from both Jake Baker and Josh Bigford to open up a 7-4 edge. The Raiders would close the gap on a 7-3 run, taking their first lead of the day up, 11-10. With the difference still one, 13-12, Griffin Stella nailed down his first kill of the day on an assist from Evan Ingerick. The Cardinals would take the next two points to take a two-point edge, 15-13. The relentless Raiders fought back, completing a 5-1 run that forced a Fisher timeout from Head Coach Matt Cohen. Out of the stoppage, the Cardinals found success giving the ball to Matt Beiter, Bigford, Gabe La Robardiere and Stella, who each put down kills as part of a slim 6-4 run that tied the set at 22-22. Three errors on the Raiders ended the first set in the Cardinals favor, winning 25-23.
 
When asked about the impact of the timeout used by the Cardinals down 18-16 in the first set, Coach Cohen admitted that "we got stuck in a rotation and we had a bad matchup. We used that timeout to discuss what we needed to do to flip the script a little bit and take advantage of the matchup on our side. I think they did a really good job up to that point and we just made small changes, which is what volleyball is all about. We were able to be a little more consistent from that point on."
 
Baker racked up five of his game-high 12 kills (tied with Bigford and the Raiders' Cameron Ternent) on the day in the first set, hitting a convincing 0.667%. Following the win, Baker talked about the recipe behind the success: "our passing today was pretty decent especially in those last two sets. And when we give Evan [Ingerick] a good ball, he is really good at running the offense. He was able to open the middles to give Josh [Bigford] and I a lot of opportunities. The true success comes from the support of the middles, they did their job to help us out."
 
The Raiders shifted momentum in the second set, taking an early 8-5 lead. The deficit would remain three for the next 16 points, but a 5-0 run gave Fisher the 18-16 lead and forced a Mount Union timeout. With the score going back-and-forth the Cardinals relied on a kill from La Robardiere and Bigford to close out the second set 25-23.
 
Into the third, the Raiders quickly found their largest lead of the day, up 8-3. Fisher would continue to chip away, using consecutive kills from Beiter and La Robardiere to bring the deficit to two, down 12-10. An ace from first-year Casey Jackson knotted the set at 15-15, marking an incredible comeback. Mount Union would not go down without a fight, opening a two-point edge from there, which would hold before kills from Baker and Stella, assisted by Ingerick, tied the score at 22-22. The Cardinals would turn to their middles to end the game, using support from Beiter and Stella to put down kills to end the contest, 3-0, winning the third set once again in a 25-23 fashion.
 
Baker and Bigford infused energy throughout the game, and when asked about their impact, Cohen gave deep praise: "while they both finished with 12 kills, the stat we don't really know is their passing, which I thought both of them passed excellent today. They kept us in system and in rhythm. Having upperclassmen as our outside hitters is HUGE, and we wait for those guys to have the deep maturity that we saw out there. The leadership they provide is invaluable." 
 
The Cardinals will cap their home stretch with a matchup against Rochester rival, No. 9 Nazareth College on Wednesday, Feb. 15 at 7 p.m.
 
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