ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y. – The Bard College men's volleyball team defended home court against the Sage Gators, as they moved to 9-3 all-time at home against their NEVC foe. 

This matchup was not a conference game, but it had the intensity of one. The Raptors had the edge in the first set in large part due to a timely Bard timeout at 16-18 Sage. The Raptors came out of the huddle strong, winning the next five points. Bard's young core delivered, as Sidney Stein and Pearse Esposito each had four kills.

The Raptors had another 5-0 run while down 8-9 in the second set. It was part of a stretch where Bard secured seven out of eight points to put them up six at 16-10. Quincy Ross emphatically punished a weak attack at the end of the run to make his big return to the team. The Gators attempted a late comeback, going on a 4-1 run with Bard on the brink, 23-15, but Esposito got the Raptors back on the board with a kill. The Raptors hit .367 and had just two errors in the set.
In the third set, the Gators got out to an early lead, but the Raptors went on an 8-3 run at 6-12 to nip at Sage's heels at 14-15. The Gators reached set point at 24-15, when Bard proceeded to save four set points thanks to some good serving by Gideon Jacob. The mountain was too tall to climb, as Sage took the third set.

The Raptors were nothing short of dominant in the fourth set – they earned an eight-point victory due to 14 kills and a .520 hitting percentage. After a 6-1 start to the set, there was back-and-forth action until 18-13. The Raptors won four of the next five points to stretch their lead to eight. They only needed one match point, finding NEVC Rookie of the Week Ansel Waisler on the kill to punctuate the outing.

Waisler led all players in kills, with 17, and he had seven digs. Esposito and Lincoln Grisso both had impressive hitting percentages, at .421 and .417, respectively. Esposito had ten kills, adding three blocks. Grisso provided five kills, five digs, two blocks and two aces in an all-around effort. Esposito and Georgi Chikolov split the setting duties, both recording over 20. They have found a rhythm together, both recording double-digit assists in six straight matches. Stein extended his double-digit kill streak to five matches, hitting 12 in the win. Chikolov had a season-high nine digs and five aces for the Raptors, who had eight total aces. Bard moved to 4-1 in matches in which they have hit 7+ aces.

The Raptors will face Fisher in the second of their four-match homestand on Friday at 6 p.m.