The Bard College men's volleyball team dropped two matches against the Nichols Bison and the Emmanuel Saints on Saturday at Nichols.

Ansel Waisler posted 18 kills, four assists, 21 digs, a block, and an ace. Sidney Stein extended his double-digit kill streak to eight matches, with 25 total kills, 13 digs, and an assist. Lincoln Grisso tallied 13 kills, four blocks, and two digs.

Evan McMahon had seven kills, an assist, and four digs. Pearse Esposito racked up 40 assists, 12 kills, 11 digs, and four blocks on the day. Georgi Chikolov picked up 19 assists and six digs against Nichols, adding five assists in a set against Emmanuel. 

Will Beane-Rosenberg had three kills, an assist, three aces, a block, and five digs. Moises Arteaga collected 15 digs, including a season-high 12 against Nichols. Amadeo Pinto chipped in two digs, and Reza Afzali had one dig.

Bard plays a doubleheader at VTSU-Johnson Saturday at 1 p.m.

Bard 1, Nichols 3

Nichols hit .469 in the first set, with 16 kills and just one error. For Bard, which had 12 kills to five errors, Grisso, Stein, and Waisler each contributed three kills. The Raptors were able to stay within five for the duration of the set, but they only had one run of four or more points in a row, from 4-9 to 8-9. At 15-17, Nichols won eight of the final 13 points, which proved to be the difference. 

Set two was closer, with a 14-13 advantage in kills for Nichols. A hot 9-5 start for the Bison was snuffed out by Bard with a 5-1 run to tie it at 10-10. The teams were even in the next stretch, ending up tied again at 19-19. That was when Nichols edged out Bard with a 6-3 finish. 

Bard countered in the third, hitting 17 kills to Nichols' 13. The Raptors hit 0.256 for their best mark of the match. Stein was the main option, hitting six kills of his own, with McMahon and Grisso adding three each. Neither team could create separation on the scoreboard, with the first lead greater than one happening at 12-10 Bard. Nichols would take a 13-12 lead, but the Raptors grinded out the set from there, winning 13 of the final 23 points. In set four, Nichols went from up 9-5 to in control at 21-5 after 12 straight points, clinching the match with a 25-9 final frame.

Bard 0, Emmanuel 3

The Raptors went up 4-2 in the early going against Emmanuel, but the Saints took control with a 12-2 run. Bard got within two at 16-14 after an 8-3 run midway through the frame. Emmanuel took a five-point lead at 22-17 when Bard took the next three points to make it 22-20. Grisso and Esposito combined for a block to win the final point of the run. Then, Emmanuel snuck by Bard to win 25-21. 

The second set was an offensive showcase by Emmanuel, with 16 kills to four errors for a .400 hitting percentage. Bard was close in the first portion of the set, down just one at 11-12. However, the Saints went on a 13-3 tear to go up two sets to none. 

In the third set, the intensity increased, with both teams hitting above .300. The Raptors battled to a 10-9 advantage, with four kills from Waisler in that span. The Saints responded with a 7-1 run to make it 16-11. Bard got back within three at 21-18, but it was too little too late.