PROVIDENCE, R.I. - The Bard College men's volleyball team lost both of its matches Friday night, 3-0, during the first day of the Johnson & Wales Tip-Off Tournament.

Set scores for the first game against Endicott College (3-5) were, 25-14, 25-18 and 25-18.

In the second match, Bard (1-5) lost to Johnson & Wales University (1-2), 25-19, 25-16 and 25-17.

The Raptors struggled hitting the ball all-night. Endicott was able to outhit Bard, .276 to -.041 overall and committed 10 less errors. 

Bard was outclassed in the first set pretty easily, before settling down over the final two sets to make it a closer contest.

In the middle frame, the Raptors remained within four or five points nearly the entire set. Bard got within three, down 17-14, before the team was outscored 8-4 the rest of the way. 

In the final set, Bard trailed 16-7, before rallying off five straight points to cut the deficit to just four.

However, the Gulls quickly rallied themselves, scoring seven of the next 10 points to take a commanding 23-15 lead, before finishing off the set and match, 25-18.

Alex Adams lead Bard with six kills, while Mahir Sheikh collected 19 assists in the match. 

Endicott was led by Bryn Lipton (Rockford, IL), who finished with seven kills. Chad Riorden (Fairport, NY) recorded 14 assists in the game. 

After falling to Endicott, Bard had a quick turnaround, as the team was tasked with playing Johnson & Wales just 40 minutes later. 

The second match of the evening didn't soothe Bard's hitting woes, as the team continued struggling to find its stroke. The Raptors were outhit by the Wildcats, .232 to -.056. 

Bard started the match playing quite well, as the team jumped out to a 9-4 lead in the first set.

While Johnson & Wales might have started slow, midway through the first set, down 12-8, the team found its groove and carried it the rest of the match.

The Wildcats rallied off 11 of the next 15 points to take a 19-16 lead and from there, the hosts cruised to the finish line to win the set.

In the second and third set, Bard fell behind early in both and was never able to recover in either.

Each time, the Raptors would cut the lead to just three or four points, before Johnson & Wales would respond with a big rally of its own. 

For the second match, Adams again led Bard with eight kills, while Sheikh added 15 assists in the effort. 

The hosts were led by Brendan Baker (Providence, RI), who tallied nine kills and Cameron Ponce (San Jose, CA), who chipped in 21 assists in the win. 

The Raptors will once again have a fast turnaround, as the team will be back in action, January 28th at 9:00 a.m. for day two of the Johnson & Wales Tip-Off Tournament.

Bard will face off with Lasell College in the early match, before playing Regis College at 11:00 a.m. You can follow both of those games right here.