JOHNSON, VT - The Bard men's volleyball team battled back from 2-0 down to force a fifth set but were narrowly defeated by Northern Vermont University-Johnson on Saturday afternoon in Vermont.
 
After dropping the opening two sets 17-25 and 21-25, the Raptors took control of the third, opening up a nine point lead and holding off a late Johnson charge to win 25-23.
 
The fourth set was just as close, and was tied 16-16 before the Raptors went on a six point run behind the strong serving of Ty McGlynn. Bard again fought off a comeback attempt to capture the set 25-22.
 
In the fifth, Bard was up 8-7 but Johnson won five straight points to take a 12-8 advantage, and held on to win 15-13. The result drops the Raptors to 1-2 in the NEVC, while Johnson gets its first league win of the season.
 
McGlynn led all players with 23 kills, and Angel Obergh added 13 more. Azriel Almodovar and Ben Murray each had three blocks, and Georgi Chikolov had 32 assists.
 
The Raptors have a short break this week before returning to action next Sunday for a tri-match with SUNY Potsdam and John Jay at home.