ROCHESTER, NY – Nazareth had an exciting day on Saturday, going 2-0 against Penn State Altoona (3-0) and Baldwin Wallace (3-2). In the first set against Penn State Altoona, Owen Wickens surpassed Nazareth's previous career kills record. After Saturday's games, Wickens now holds the record at 1432 kills and counting.
 
After the weekend, Nazareth's overall record now stands at 14-9.

Nazareth Defeats Penn State Altoona 3-0 (25-21, 25-10, 25-12)
The first set was very back and forth, with four tie scores across the set. Nazareth had an impressive hitting percentage of .448, Andrew Bodensteiner leading the efforts with a .800 percentage on four kills. Max Stuver and Alex Bertino each had three kills in the first set, while Wickens and Quinn Ringstad had two apiece. Wickens' second kill broke the Nazareth record for career kills with 1411. Towards the end of the set, Nazareth was up 19-18 and went on a four-point run to put pressure on the Lions. The deficit was too much for Penn State Altoona to overcome and Nazareth took the set at a score of 25-21.
 
Nazareth really broke it open in the second set, going on a nine-point run early on to go up by double digits at 13-3. The Golden Flyers swung at an incredible attack percentage of 0.545 to help seal the second set at a score of 25-10.
 
In the final set Nazareth once again was able to string together a few early runs to create a comfortable lead at 12-4. Up 19-11, Nazareth scored five consecutive points off kills from Ryan Murphy and Josh Weaver and three aces from Wickens to bring the game to match point at 24-11. After giving up a kill, the Golden Flyers concluded the game with a kill from Joe Seliger.
 
Weaver led Nazareth in kills with six while Tristan Henderson and Wickens added five and four. Stuver led the way in assists with 20, followed by AJ Burda with eight and Wickens with five. Wickens also tallied an impressive eight aces while Seliger added five. Wickens led the defensive efforts with seven digs while Gavin Sweet and Burda had four and three respectively.
 
Nazareth Outlasts Baldwin Wallace 3-2 (21-25, 25-21, 25-15, 21-25, 20-18)
The first set set the scene for the rest of the match with some close back-and-forth action, neither team holding more than a three-point lead at a time. At a tie score of 19-19, the Yellowjackets strung together three consecutive points to go up 22-19. Nazareth could not find enough to bridge the gap, and Baldwin Wallace took the set 25-21.
 
The second set was similar in nature to the first with some back-and forth action at the beginning. With a lead of 16-13, Nazareth went on a 3-0 run to go up by six. The deficit was too much for the Yellowjackets to come back from and the Golden Flyers took the set 25-21.
 
Nazareth's momentum carried into the third, opening the set 4-0 where the lead would hover until another four-point-run by the Golden Flyers to put Nazareth up 16-8. Up by eight points, the Golden Flyers slowly continued to build the lead, eventually taking the set 25-15.
 
The fourth set was once again even in the beginning. At a score of 13-13, the momentum of the game shifted back to the Yellowjackets as they put up four consecutive kills to go up 17-13. Nazareth was able to get the lead down to two late in the set at 22-20 but could not come all the way back and the Yellowjackets sent it into a fifth set with a 25-21 fourth set win.
 
In the final set, the two teams battled from the first serve. Down 5-3, Nazareth took the momentum back with five points in a row, including three consecutive kills from Bodensteiner and Wickens to go up 8-5 at the switch. Following swapping sides, the Yellowjackets immediately tied the game back up at eight. After trading points for a while, the Golden Flyers were down 18-17 at match point. A kill from Wickens followed by a Bodensteiner ace and a Yellowjackets attack error allowed the Golden Flyers to come back and take the set 20-18.
 
Wickens led the game with 18 kills, followed by Weaver with nine and Murphy with eight. Bodensteiner led the team in aces and blocks with six and five. Murphy also added three aces. Burda led the team in assists with 40, while Bodey Groff led in digs with 12 and Weaver had nine.
 
The Golden Flyers will be back in action on March 22 at 1 p.m. at home in a conference match-up against New Paltz.