CAMBRIDGE, MA – The No. 7 St. John Fisher men's volleyball team (17-5, 1-2 UVC) used their new look offense to piece together a 3-0 sweep (29-27, 25-20, 25-23) over the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Engineers (9-9, 0-4), garnering their first conference win in the 2023 season. The win stretches the Cardinals current win streak to four, only dropping one set over the teams last 13 since March 4.
 
The opening set started close, but Fisher gained a three point separation courtesy of three MIT errors to take a 10-7 advantage. Using kills from Jake Baker and Zach Ciraolo, the Fisher lead would swell to five, up 15-10, before MIT took their second timeout of the set. The Engineers would chip away at the lead, as three straight miscues from Fisher moved the difference to just one, forcing a Cardinal timeout.
 
The offense would pick up from there, as Fisher used kills from Josh Bigford and Matt Beiter to move the lead back to four, up 20-16. But three Cardinal errors spanning just five points shifted the momentum, with the game now tied at 21. A timely kill from Ciraolo, his fifth of the set gave Fisher the opportunity for set point, up 24-23, but the Engineers would rally back. The teams would exchange big plays, but neither team could strike the winning blow until a big block from Baker gave Fisher the 29-27 victory.
 
The act would continue in the second set, with the first point coming on a kill from Bigford, with an assist from the knees of Trace La Robardiere. The sparkling defensive play helped support what would expand to a six-point Fisher advantage, up 12-6. Kills from Bigford and Ciraolo helped stabilize the Cardinals after a resurgent offense from the Engineers narrowed the gap to four, with Fisher up 15-11. The Engineers would not be able to answer the prolific Cardinals offense, who would take the second set in 25-20 style.
 
Fisher would use 11 kills in the second set to just three errors to mark a 0.333% percentage while using strong defense to hold MIT to a 0.139% clip across 36 attempts.
 
A 4-1 run to open the third set gave the Engineers their largest lead of the day, but Fisher would recover, using back-to-back blocks from Ciraolo and Baker to open take their first lead of the set, 6-5. In a similar fashion to the first two sets, the Engineers would hold on for much of the set, staking Fisher to a three-point lead, 15-12. The set would remain close, with the Engineers tying the set at 19-19, but the tandem of Ciraolo, Griffin Stella, and Tyler Cohen helped the Cardinals survive the late push from MIT to take the third set 25-23.
 
Ciraolo, who finished with a team and career high 11 kills and 11.5 points has returned to the lineup in dominating fashion. The junior from Clarence, who missed most of the 2022 season with an injury, has hit at a .447% clip with 27 kills and just six errors across 47 attempts over his last four.
 
Both Bigford and Baker were held to less than 10 kills in the win (7 and 6, respectively), the first time the two outsides have played in three sets and neither end with 10 or more kills in a win since combining for 15 in a three set victory over Baldwin Wallace on Feb. 12, 2022.
 
The Cardinals will continue conference play this week, hosting Elmira College on Wednesday, March 15 at 7 p.m. The Cardinals will look to extend their win streak over Penn State Behrend to four, as they host on Saturday, March 18 at 1 p.m.
 
Stay up-to-date with the latest news, scores, highlights and more by downloading the official mobile app for Fisher Athletics. Just search SJF Athletics in the App Store or on Google Play and download today for free.  Follow the Cardinals on social media for more! Twitter | Instagram