HOBOKEN, N.J. - The Bard College men's volleyball team played yet another highly ranked opponent on Wednesday night, and the result - 3-0 - was the same as the other two times.
This time, though, the Raptors played a closer match.
United Volleyball Conference foe Stevens Tech, the seventh-ranked team in the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association poll, beat Bard by set scores of 25-12, 25-23, and 25-20. The Raptors already have straight-set losses to then-No. 15 SUNY New Paltz and then-No. 6 NYU, but they didn't come close to winning a set in either case.
On Wednesday, after getting buried in the first set, the Raptors got behind 5-0 in the second set, and it looked liked it was going to be a short night.
But Bard (5-8 overall, 0-6 UVC) battled back, tied the match at 13-13, and it was nip and tuck as the set wore on. Eventually, Stevens Tech (9-1 overall, 5-1 UVC) had a 21-18 lead. A kill and an ace by
Nick Chan spurred a rally, and a kill by
Andrew Cortrite gave Bard a 23-22 lead.
A kill by freshman Ian Tyger (York, PA) and a block of a Chan attack attempt put Stevens back in front, 24-23, and the Ducks closed out the set on an attack error by Bard.
Even the third set, which started with Stevens taking a 6-1 lead, got interesting later. Bard was down, 17-12, when the Raptors made another push for the lead. After a kill by Cortrite earned a side out for Bard, the Raptors put together four straight points with
Eliah Gardner serving, closing the gap to 17-16.
At 20-18, Bard had four consecutive attack errors, however, and ended up losing the third set, 25-20. The Raptors hit just .064 for the match and were hurt by a dozen service errors. The Ducks hit .294 with four aces and 12.5 blocks.
Tyger led Stevens with 10 kills (.333) and freshman Kevin Aeckerle (Henrietta, NY) had 21 assists. The Ducks play No. 9 Rivier and No. 15 Emmanuel on Saturday.
Chan led all hitters with 13 kills (.231), while
Henry Kasiske contributed 21 assists and nine digs.
Ryan Fallon added six kills and hit .444.
Bard next hosts the Bard Raptors Tournament on Friday and Saturday. Bard will play NYU-Poly at 4 p.m. and Mount Ida at 8 p.m., both on Friday.
