OWINGS MILLS, MD – Junior Antonio Sargent matched his career-high with 16 kills to lead the Nazareth College men's volleyball team but the Golden Flyers fell in three very close games to Loras College in the first match of the Stevenson University Tournament Friday night.

Loras (3-0) rallied to win all three games as the Duhawks won the match by scores of 25-23, 29-27 and 26-24.

Sargent led the Golden Flyers (2-3) as he recorded his fifth consecutive double-digit kills effort. He matched his career-high match total as he had 16 kills as a freshman against NYU.

Freshman Nate Allen added eight kills and senior Luis Vazquez had 32 assists and 11 digs for Nazareth. Fellow senior Sean Dillon had four blocks and two aces while freshman Seth Terzo added nine digs.

In the first game, Nazareth battled back late to trim a 24-21 deficit to 24-23 before Loras recorded the final kill to win a close first game.

The Golden Flyers tied the second game at 19-19 with a Sargent kill but Loras scored the next three points to regain the edge. A service ace by sophomore Jason Proud evened the score again at 24-24 and again at 26-26 with another Sargent kill. Nazareth took a 27-26 lead on a Loras error but the Duhawks scored the final three points, including two kills to take the second game.

Down 2-0, Nazareth fell behind early in the third game but used a 6-0 run that included a pair of kills by senior Joe Crosby and two more kills by Sargent to even the score at 17-17. Another Sargent kill gave Nazareth a 23-20 lead but Loras rallied for six of the final seven points to close out the game and match.