Wentworth box | Elms box
UTICA, N.Y. -- Nazareth opened the season with a win over 10th-ranked Wentworth before falling to Elms at the SUNY Poly Invitational on Friday. The Golden Flyers defeated Wentworth by the scores of 25-16, 25-27, 17-25, 27-25, 15-11 behind a team-high 14 kills from junior Zachary Gillard and a team-high 42 assists from senior Jake Kemp. Following its win over the Leopards, Nazareth fell to Elms in four sets by the scores of 19-25, 25-16, 25-23, 25-23.

Following Friday's matches, the Golden Flyers stand at 1-1 overall. Nazareth will play Rivier and Eastern Mennonite on Saturday at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., respectively.

In addition to the kills from Gillard, senior Sam Bittker had eight kills, and sophomore Joe Crosby tallied seven kills. Junior Trevor Gooch and sophomore Sean Dillon each added six kills to the Golden Flyers' attack. Juniors Ethan Ross and Tyler Farnung each contributed a pair of service aces.

Defensively, sophomore Luis Vazquez thwarted many of the Leopards' attacks as he finished with a team-high 16 digs. Kemp and Gillard chipped in six digs and five digs, respectively. At the net, Dillon and Bittker were strong forces. Dillon amassed seven assisted blocks, and Bittker recorded a pair of solo blocks and three assisted blocks. 

In the Golden Flyers' close loss to the Blazers, Bittker finished with a team-high 10 kills while Gillard had nine kills. The trio of Dillon, Ross, and senior Kane Wittorff combined for 18 total kills. Similar to the match against Wentworth, Kemp directed Nazareth's attack and amassed 35 assists.

On the defensive side of the net, Vazquez had a team-high 13 digs, and Bittker recorded four assisted blocks.