The Bard College men's volleyball team completed their regular season against the Lehman Lightning on Thursday night, falling in five sets.
Ansel Waisler had a career-high 27 kills, nearly achieving a double-double with nine digs.
Sidney Stein had 13 kills and nine digs in the effort.
Pearse Esposito had 23 assists to go with eight kills, five digs, four blocks, and three aces in a well-rounded performance.
Will Beane-Rosenberg contributed with five blocks, while
Gideon Jacob had four aces to tie his career-high, adding nine assists.
Georgi Chikolov had 12 assists, two digs, and an ace.
The Raptors used an 11-4 run to get ahead off the jump, forcing a Lehman timeout. The Lightning took the ensuing three points, but Bard took the shock without harm, regaining its seven-point lead. The Raptors had 11 kills in the set and received well, leading the ace category 2-0, which was key to the opening set victory.
The second set went in Lehman's favor, as Bard's offense couldn't get rolling. The Lightning hit .400 in the frame. The Raptors had a 5-3 lead in the third, but Lehman won eight of the next nine points to take control. In the third, the Lightning outmatched the Raptors in the kill department, 11-6, leading them to the 2-1 set lead.
In the fourth set, the Raptors took it through relentless offense, hitting 17 kills to just four errors. At 10-9, Bard took five straight points, four on Waisler kills. To close it out, Bard dominated from 20-15 up, winning another five in a row. On set point, Esposito's serve ticked the net, forcing Lehman into a weak reply that Chikolov put down for an authoritative kill.
In the final set, back-and-forth action was on display, with each team getting small leads. The match was up for the taking, as Bard had four match points that all dissolved. With Lehman leading 17-16, Emmanuel Oladosu just floated a serve in, allowing the Raptors to set up. A big attack from Stein was dug up, and a mid-court attack from Almir Pepic went off the outstretched arms of a diving Waisler, giving Lehman the win.
Bard made the NEVC playoffs, which is the first time in the program's history since joining in 2023. They will travel either to SUNY Poly or Endicott on Wednesday in the NEVC Quarterfinals, time TBA.
