The Bard men's volleyball team had three players in double-digit kills but fell in a thrilling five-setter on Thursday night at SUNY Gymnasium. Set scores were 25-20, 25-16, 23-25, 20-25, 12-15. 

Bard had the upper hand, winning the first two sets, but Purchase managed to do a reverse sweep. Ansel Waisler had a career-high night with 22 kills, hit .400, five block assists, 11 digs, and four aces. Lincoln Grisso was one kill shy of tying his career-high of 13 kills with 12. He hit .348 with only four errors. Grisso added four block assists as well as two service aces. 

Sidney Stein had his second double-double of the season with 12 kills and 10 digs. Pearse Esposito, Georgi Chikolov, and Gideon Jacob each shared the assists as all three Raptors were in double-digit assists, with Chikolov leading the team with 19. Esposito added seven kills, while Will Beane-Rosenberg added two kills and tied his career-high three block assists. 

Purchase opened the first set with a 5-2 lead, but the Raptors soon turned it around with a 17-5 run to take a 19-10 lead. The Panthers battled back and got within four points of the Raptors, but a kill from Esposito and Waisler secured the first set for Bard. In the second set, Bard took control and was up 16-9. Purchase tried to get back into the set with a 4-1 mini run but Bard went on a 7-2 run to finish the set and go 2-0. 

The third set was back and forth between the two teams; tied up at 23-23, Purchase managed to get back-to-back kills to win the third set. The fourth set saw Purchase hit their best with 13 kills, a .423 hitting percentage, and only two errors. Bard was playing catch-up after tying the set at 15-15. The Panthers' 10-5 run tied the match up at 2-2. In the fifth set, Bard had a two-point lead at 8-6 and 11-9, but the Panthers went on a 6-1 run to take home the victory. 

Bard will have a four-game homestand as they take on Sage on Tuesday at 7 p.m. for a non-conference match up.