ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y. – The Bard College men's volleyball team overcame a two-set-to-one deficit to defeat Elms in five on Wednesday night at Stevenson Athletic Center. 

Ansel Waisler led the charge with his third 20+ kill game with 21 kills. Waisler added five digs and five assists. Sidney Stein rose to the occasion 15 kills, his 6th match with 10+ kills of the season. Stein and Amadeo Pinto were tied for a team-high of 14 digs each; for Stein, it is his third double-double of the season, and for Pinto, it is his fifth match with double-digit digs. 

Pearse Esposito was all over the floor, with 10 kills, 21 assists, 11 digs and three aces. Esposito's triple double is his second in his career. While Lincoln Grisso contributed with three aces, four blocks, and four kills. 

In the first set, Bard took control after Elms went 4-1 up. A 13-4 run had the Raptors leading 14-8. The Blazers tried to fight back but only managed to get within six at 21-15. Bard won four straight points, including two kills from Stein.

The second set was a switcharound, with Elms taking control at 5-5 and never letting Bard get closer. The third set was a back and forth battle between the two teams, but at 23-23, the Blazers took advantage of a free ball to set them up with a set point. 

The fourth set was similar to the third as both teams went back and forth. A serving error at 22-21 followed by a kill from Waisler set the Raptors up with three set points. Another massive kill from Waisler gave the Raptors hope as the crowd went wild. 

The fifth set saw Bard take a 10-5 lead, but had to save a match point at 13-14. Elms then had to save a match point at 15-14, but a service error tied the game back up at 15-15. At a deadlock, Stein came up big with back-to-back kills to close out the set and for Bard to get revenge on Elms. 

Bard and Elms played against each other at Emmanuel early in the season and fell in five sets, with the Raptors not able to complete the reverse sweep. 

Bard will host NEVC opponent Curry at noon, followed by a non-conference match up against Gallaudet at 4 pm on Saturday for Pride Day.