POUGHKEEPSIE, NY - In the opening round of the UVC championship tournament, the No. 10, third seeded St. John Fisher University Cardinals (23-6, 3-3 UVC) pushed past the No. 11, sixth seeded New York University Violets (12-10, 2-5 UVC) in five sets (23-25, 25-17, 25-27, 25-13, 15-13). With the win, the Cardinals season stays alive, as they prepare for a Saturday semi-final match against No. 8, second seeded SUNY New Paltz.
 
In the first set against the Violets, the Cardinals quickly fell behind four, down 11-7. Forcing seven Violets errors across the next eleven points, combined with critical kills from Josh Bigford, the Cardinals would take their first lead of the match, up 15-14. But the Violets would return the favor, scoring five of the next seven to take back the lead 19-17. The score would remain close as both Bigford and Jake Baker added a kill, but the sixth Cardinals service error of the set allowed the Violets to take a commanding 1-0 lead.
 
Using kills from the cast of Baker, Bigford, Tyler Cohen, and Griffin Stella, the Cardinals were able to establish their offense early in the second set, taking a marginal 9-8 lead. With the score
 
15-13, the offense clicked to push across seven of the next nine, to move the lead to a more comfortable six-point advantage, up 21-15. The Cardinals would put an exclamation point next to their first set victory of the tournament, taking the set by a 25-17 score.
 
But the Violets would come out in strong fashion to take an 11-7 lead in the third set, which would balloon eventually to 18-12 to force a Fisher timeout. Out of the stoppage, the Cardinals would bring in Gabe La Robardiere, who immediately made an impact, coming up with a huge block as part of a 5-1 run, to move the deficit to just two, down 19-17. Using an ace from Casey Jackson, combined with kills from Stella and Bigford, the Cardinals knotted the set at 23-23. The run would come up just short, as NYU pushed across three consecutive points to take the set by a 27-25 score.
 
While the Cardinals could not capture the set, Coach Matt Cohen felt confident is his team following the rally: "even though we did not win that third set, we felt the momentum was in our favor after recovering from such a difference."
 
With their backs against the wall, the Cardinals quickly established a 7-3 lead in the fourth, which would swell to a 16-8 score. Even after an NYU timeout, the Cardinals offense continued to find their stride, taking the set 25-13 and force a fifth. In the fourth, the Cardinals collected 14 kills and recorded just three errors, good to hit .407, while holding the Violets to a - 065 mark.
 
The difference between the third and fourth set, according to Baker, is that in the third set
"there were] a lot of unforced errors on our side, and we adjusted to their strategy by taking advantage of our ability to force teams out of system. We felt confident in our strategy and scoring points in transition helped us a lot. We trust our coaching staff and teammates to make key plays."
 
Baker would lead the Cardinals into the fifth, putting down two kills and ace over the span of five points to help Fisher roll to a quick 8-4 lead. After the teams switched sides and exchanged the next four points, NYU stalled the celebration, rallying to come from behind and take the lead 11-10 after taking six straight points. Out of a Cardinals timeout, in which Baker centered the team around the goal of "being aggressive and confident with our swings," Fisher used kills from Bigford, Baker, and Stella to go 14-13. With the game on the line, Baker pounded down his 13 kill of the day, giving Fisher the set and match win.
 
Stella, Baker, and Bigford each finished with 10+ kills in the win, as part of a 54 kill attack from the Cardinals, so route to hitting 252. Evan Ingerick tallied 19 assists and four digs in the win, while Gavin Newman contributed 24 assists, 13 digs, and an ace. Newman sits just three service aces shy of tying the Cardinals single season record of service aces, set by Newman and Matt Beiter with 50 in 2022.
 
The Cardinals will seek redemption against the No. 2 seeded New Paltz Hawks tomorrow, April 15, when the teams collide in the championship semi-finals at 5 p.m.
 
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