ERIE, Pa. – The St. John Fisher men's volleyball team (8-6, 1-2 UVC) split a pair of matches on Saturday, sweeping Carlow University (25-9, 25-15, 25-16) before falling to Penn State Behrend (23-25, 27-29, 25-18, 21-25) in four sets. 

How It Happened (St. John Fisher vs. Penn State Behrend)

Both teams started hot offensively, slamming 15 kills apiece while hitting above .280 in the first set, which included 12 tied scores and three lead changes. Penn State Behrend closed out the 25-23 victory on a kill from Daniel Easly and a combo block from Easly and Lewis Rhodes. 

The second set mirrored the first with 13 ties. Fisher erased multiple set points, but Behrend again executed late to take a 29-27 win. Wilcox had five kills in the frame while hitting .364, and Easly slammed four. St. John Fisher was led by junior outside hitter Sonepith Keoviengsamay and freshman outside hitter Avery Kielbasinski, who recorded four kills apiece. 

The Cardinals had their best offensive performance of the match in the third set, smashing 14 kills while hitting .367 en route to a 25-18 win. Keoviengsamay accounted for five kills on an .833 hitting percentage, while junior middle blocker Connor Holmes added four kills and hit .800. The Cardinals opened the set on an 8-2 run and closed it with a 4-1 push that included a pair of kills by Holmes. 

Penn State Behrend wrapped up the match victory with a 25-21 win in the fourth set, during which Wilcox recorded four more kills to bring his total for the contest to 18. The Lions opened up an 11-6 lead after a handful of ties early in the set and eventually pushed their advantage to as many as six points. 

Match Notes (St. John Fisher vs. Penn State Behrend)

• Keoviengsamay led the Cardinals with 16 points on 15 kills, tied for the most he's had in a collegiate match, and two block assists. He added 11 digs defensively as part of his first double-double of the season. 

• Senior outside hitter Gabe La Robardiere, junior middle blocker Guillermo Perez and freshman outside hitter Avery Kielbasinski each had nine kills. Perez, who had 11.5 points, added four total blocks, including one solo. 

• Senior setter Aiden Calhoun led the Cardinals with 31 assists and two service aces. 

• Freshman libero Luke Zimmerman led the Cardinals with 12 digs. 

How It Happened (St. John Fisher vs. Carlow)

The Cardinals hit an exceptional .667 with 12 kills in the first frame, which they opened on an 11-3 run en route to a 25-9 victory. Sophomore outside hitter Coleton Welter led the Cardinals with four kills, while senior outside hitter Casey Jackson and junior middle blocker Guillermo Perez slammed three apiece. 

The Cardinals quickly erased an early four-point deficit in the second set with a 10-1 run that put them in front by five, 14-9. They closed the frame on a 9-2 run to secure a 10-point victory, 25-15. Freshman outside hitter Giancarlo Martinez led Fisher with four kills while hitting .600 and had a pair of serves in the frame. Junior libero Nick Tarataglia and senior outside hitter Gabe La Robardiere also aced two serves as the Cardinals piled up seven as a team in the set. 

La Robardiere and fellow senior outside hitter Jimmy Roberts both had four kills in the fourth set, which the Cardinals won 25-16 to complete the sweep. Junior setter James Barrone recorded a match-high 11 assists in the frame. 

Match Notes (St. John Fisher vs. Carlow)

•  Roberts accounted for a team-high eight points on five kills and three service aces. He matched his career high with his three aces. 

• Welter led the Cardinals with seven kills. 

•  La Robardiere slammed five kills and aced a pair of serves.

• The Cardinals tallied a season-high 12 service aces as a team. 

• The Cardinals hit a season-high .426 while slamming 36 kills and committing just 10 errors. 

Up Next

The Cardinals face Houghton at 7 p.m. on Tuesday on the road.