ROCHESTER, NY – Junior Owen Wickens had a career-high 29 kills to help the ninth-ranked men's volleyball team defeat 13^th-ranked Mount Union in a five set thriller, 21-25, 25-21, 20-25, 29-27, 15-13 in its second match on Friday. The Golden Flyers opened the day with a three set sweep of SUNY Potsdam 25-15, 25-22, 25-23.
 
With the two wins, Nazareth is now 12-0 on the season, eclipsing the best start since 2015 when the program won 11-straight to start the year.
 
Nazareth returns to action on Saturday, hosting Trine at 10 a.m. at the Golisano Training Center.
 
3-0 win over SUNY Potsdman, 25-15, 25-22, 25-23
 
The Golden Flyers came out swinging .429 for the opening set, with 14 kills on 28 attempts with just two errors, cruising to a 25-15 victory.
 
Nazareth led for the entire second set, until the Bears rattled off three-straight points to take a 21-20 lead. The Golden Flyers managed to score the next four points to help secure their hold on the set.
 
In the third, Nazareth led 23-18, before giving up four-straight points. The Golden Flyers sealed the set with a Wickens kill and a Potsdam service error to close out the set. Wickens led the way with 12 kills on a .276 attack percentage, while also collecting five digs.
 
Alex Bertino was good for eight kills and four digs, while Max Stuver notched six kills on a .455 percentage and dished out 16 assists. AJ Burda put down six kills with nine assists.
 
3-2 win vs #13 Mount Union, 21-25, 25-21, 20-25, 29-27, 15-1
 
Facing a 2-1 deficit, the Golden Flyers came back to win the final two sets in dramatic fashion to remain unbeaten.
 
In the fourth set, each team fought off set point, a service error from the Golden Flyers evening the score at 27 apiece. Stuver followed that up with one of his five blocks and Jonathan Jackson notched a service ace to send it to the deciding set. Stuver also had nine kills and 12 digs.
 
The Golden Flyers led 12-7 in the final set, but the Raiders roared all the way back to even the score at 13 apiece to put the pressure on Nazareth. The ninth-ranked purple and gold responded with a Wickens kill and then a ball handling error on Mount Union sealed the victory.
 
Seth Terzo led the Golden Flyers with 21 digs.
 
Andrew Bodensteiner and Bertino each chipped in eight kills. Bodensteiner put down eight blocks in the middle.
 
Nazareth hit just .131 for the match, compared to .206 for the Raiders.