The Bard College men's volleyball team faced Hobart and Eastern Mennonite University (EMU) on Friday afternoon to start their 2025 season.

The Raptors started the first set on even terms with the No. 10 Hobart Statesmen, with a 6-6 scoreline. Hobart pulled away with a 14-1 run which helped the Statesmen close out the first set. The Raptors finished the first set with five kills, two of them coming from Pearse Esposito. Giorgi Chikolov had three digs after the first frame. Bard led in the block category, 3-1.

In the second set, the Statesmen took an early six-point lead at 10-4. The Raptors responded, winning three of the next four points with good defense. Hobart rallied and held a 6+ point lead from 13-7 until the end of the set at 25-13. Bard cut down on attacking errors, hitting only three while still putting up five kills.

Micah Kelleher and Sidney Stein combined for an emphatic block on the second point of the third set, hoping to turn the tide and start a comeback. Bard was able to stay close, with plays on offense like Lincoln Grisso's attack to make it 6-9 and Kelleher's ace down the line to bring the Raptors to within one at 10-11. Hobart hit successive kills to regain momentum and rode that to the win.

Grisso led the Raptors with six kills while adding two digs and a block. Esposito and Stein each had three kills in their first collegiate game. Stein added a team-high two aces, while Esposito tied with Chikolov for the team-lead in digs with five. Gideon Jacob had eight assists and added three digs. Kelleher and Stein tied for the team-lead in blocks, with two apiece.

Against the EMU Royals, the Raptors fell in four sets.

In set one, the Raptors saved four set points to challenge the Royals' nerves at the end of the set. The Raptors and Royals each had a block in the first set. 

Bard had a solid start to the second set, where they had three straight points to tie up the score at seven. Grisso and Stein had kills for the Raptors to punctuate two of the points. After falling down three at 7-10, Bard won four of the following five points to even the score at 11. Esposito and Stein recorded kills on this run. The Royals ended the set strong and took a 2-0 lead in the match.

The third set was similarly a back-and-forth affair, with the Raptors gaining a two-point lead nine separate times in the set, only for the Royals to string together a few points of their own. At 16-15, the Raptors went on their set-sealing 6-0 run. Stein hit a missile followed by an offspeed attack for two kills, and Gideon hit two timely aces to give Bard its first cushion. At 24-18, Grisso finished the point with a kill.

The Royals reset in the fourth, hitting five aces and accumulating ten kills. The Raptors would reach seven kills of their own. The comeback fell short, but Bard came away with a set, which they will build on heading into Sunday's tri-match at Rutgers-Newark..

Esposito and Stein tied for the team lead with 12 kills, Jacob had 15 assists and four aces, and Pedro Bello Lopez and Stein each had eight digs to lead the Raptors. Will Beane-Rosenberg notched three blocks in the match.

The next event for the Raptors is a road tri-match at Rutgers-Newark, taking on Saint Elizabeth at 1 p.m. before taking on the host at 3 p.m.