Box Score
CHICOPEE, Mass. - Every college volleyball team will play close matches at some point, and having experience in those tight ones can pay dividends as the season progresses.

Six matches into the 2014 season, it's safe to say that Bard knows how it feels to play in tight matches.

On Wednesday night, the Raptors edged Elms in a non-league contest, 3-1, by set scores of 25-22, 27-25, 26-28, and 27-25.

The victory had to be quite a relief after the Raptors lost a pair of five-setters at the SUNYIT Tournament last weekend - 15-13 in each those fifth and deciding sets. This time, Bard didn't let it get that far.

The Raptors hit .360 in the first set and led the rest of the way after a 10-10 tie. Billy Williams had six kills and Henry Kasiske had nine assists in the first set alone. Although Bard couldn't maintain the hitting effficiency in the second set, they pulled it out at the end with a key ace from Williams to make it 25-24, and a timely kill by Daniel Gagne on set point to win it, 27-25.

Elms (2-3) had a lead as big as 21-16 in the third set before Bard rallied. A kill by Jesse Small tied it at 23-23, but a service error gave the Blazers a set point. Freshman Shane McDonald's kill tied it at 24-24, and after an Elms kills, Small tied it with a kill at 25-25. A couple of late Bard errors gave Elms the set, 28-26.

The fourth set was just as close as the others, but this time it was Elms rallying to force extra time. Bard's 19-16 lead evaporated, but an ace from Williams gave Bard match point at 25-24. After Elms tied it, Adams put Bard up with a kill, and a hitting error by Elms allowed Bard to improve to 2-4 overall.

The Blazers got a whopping 23 kills (.400) and 13 digs from senior Bryson Rainey (Brookline, MA), and 13 kills apiece from Kordel Latimer (Lynn, MA) and Angel Castro (Carolina, PR). Senior Kevin Welsh (Wilbraham, MA) had 47 assists.

Bard got 16 kills from Williams and 11 from Small. Gagne hit .615 with nine kills; freshman Alex Adams had eight kills (.300) and 12 digs; Kasiske finished with 39 assists and 11 digs, and McDonald added six kills and eight digs.

After a busy early schedule, the Raptors will take a bit of a breather. Their next match, the home opener, will be on Feb. 5 at 7 p.m. vs. Sage. You can follow that match right here via Live Stats or Live Video.