UTICA, N.Y. – The Bard College men's volleyball team opened the season with a pair of losses in the SUNY Polytechnic Tournament on Friday night.

Bard was swept twice, first by SUNY Poly (25-15, 25-14, 25-15), then by Elms (25-17, 25-29, 25-21).

In the opener against the hosts, Bard got up 5-1, but the WIldcats (1-1) scored eight in a row to take a 9-5 lead they didn't relinquish. SUNY Poly led the second set from start to finish, and although the third set was closer, Bard didn't get closer than 12-9 in defeat.

A.J. Davids (Hilton, NY) had 10 kills for the hosts along with three digs, while Zach Goggin (Feeding Hills, MA) had 28 assists.
 
Sophomore Alex Adams and junior Stefan Briggs each had five kills for the Raptors. Briggs also had two aces and two blocks. Senior captain Kai Bernier-Chen had 16 assists and four digs. Sophomore Tyler Zowaski also had four digs.
 
Elms (1-1) got 13 digs from Daniel Bondarovsky (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), while John Dunphy (Farmington, CT) had 28 assists and seven digs.
 
Adams had nine kills for the Raptors, while senior Jesse Small contributed with six. Bernier-Chen had 16 assists, while Zowaski had six digs. Bard hit .348 in the third set.
 
The Raptors (0-2) return to action with two more matches in the SUNY Polytechnic Tournament on Saturday. The first match is against Wentworth Institute of Technology at 11 a.m., with the second match beginning at 3 p.m. against Wells College.