UTICA, NY – After winning the second and third sets to take a 2-1 edge in the match, the Nazareth Volleyball team dropped a close fourth set and fell 15-10 in the fifth set to fall to Utica University in Empire 8 action Saturday.

The loss is the first in school history to Utica (9-6 overall, 1-1 Empire 8) for the Golden Flyers (4-9, 1-1 Empire 8). Nazareth had won 26 straight matches in the series that dates back to 1995.

Utica won the opening set 25-22 but Nazareth bounced back with wins of 25-18 and 25-21 in the second and third set to take a 2-1 lead. Nazareth trailed 22-19 in the fourth set but committed three service errors as Utica forced the tie breaker set with a 25-22 win.

In the fifth set, Utica jumped out to an early lead but a kill by senior Eva Lyko closed the gap to 9-8. Utica scored three straight points to surge ahead 12-8. The teams traded points and a kill by sophomore Tessa Grover made it a 13-10 score but the Pioneers recorded a kill and an ace to close out the match.

Grover nearly had a triple-double with 17 kills, 22 assists and eight digs. Freshman Rylie Loomis added 13 kills and senior Kaylee Kelly also recorded double-digit kills with 10. Sophomore Ruth Jackson had seven kills, five aces and four blocks. Kelly had 16 digs and sophomore Zoe Tylipakis added a team-leading 18 digs while fellow sophomore Ella Kules led the Golden Flyers with 24 assists.