Despite flashes of strong play, the Bard College women's volleyball team (1-6) fell to Farmingdale State (2-3) in three hard-fought sets Saturday evening, with scores of 25-18, 25-20, and 25-16.

Farmingdale State pulled away from the Raptors towards the end of the first set with a series of well-placed kills by Lana Ventura and Jenya Surlin. Despite the Rams taking control, Bard continued to fight, with key digs from Ella Small and a kill from Annika Flittie that brought the Raptors within two points. However, Farmingdale
State closed the set with a 25-18 victory, hitting .276 to Bard's .179.

Bard jumped out to a quick 10-6 lead in the second set. Flittie and Coral Cook powered the attack with timely kills, but Farmingdale State responded with a 13-3 run led by Mackenzie Marquardt's two aces. Bard clawed back to within three at 17-20, but the Rams held off the comeback to win 25-20. The Raptors struggled to get kills, hitting 4 in the set, compared to Farmingdale State's 11.

In the third set, Bard tried to regain momentum, but Farmingdale State's balanced attack proved too much. Flittie, LaeAnna Riley, and Cook each had moments of brilliance, but the Raptors were unable to overcome the Rams' .323 hitting percentage in the final set. Farmingdale State took the set 25-16 and sealed the match.

Flittie led Bard with eight kills, followed by Xenia Vassou with four, while Small anchored the defense with 11 digs. Becca Wintjen contributed 14 assists. For Farmingdale State, Samantha Russo paced the offense with nine kills, while Sarah Rende dished out 27 assists and five aces. Ventura added 12 digs to round out the Rams' strong defensive effort.

Bard will look to bounce back in their next event – a tri match at 11 a.m. Saturday with FDU-Florham and Mount St. Mary – as they continue to build on the positives from this contest.