Marcy, N.Y. – The Nazareth men's volleyball team opened the New Year with a three game weekend in Utica, where they took part in the SUNY Poly Invitational. On Sunday, they closed out the tournament with a match against the hosts, where they fell in straight sets; 3-0.

How It Happened

• The Golden Flyers managed a narrow lead early in set number one to find themselves up 8-5. The two teams continued to trade blows in a back-and-forth set that eventually saw the Wildcats tie things up at 18-18. Poly took over late in the set, scoring 7 of the last 9 points to win it 25-20

• The second set proved to be more of the same for Nazareth. The two teams went back and forth until the Golden Flyers put together a small run to take a 17-12 lead. Once again, however, SUNY Poly clawed their way back with a 9-2 run, putting them up 21-19. The Wildcats took the set 25-22

• Set number three continued the trend of an even battle in the early going, with the two teams finding themselves knotted up at 13. Poly subsequently went on a 5 point run that would prove to be insurmountable for Nazareth. The Wildcats took the set 25-20, securing the straight-set victory

Game Notes

• AJ Burda had 18 assists to go along with 8 kills on 13 attempts for a .538 hitting percentage. He also added a dig and an ace to total 9 points on the day

• Ryan Murphy also managed 8 kills in the match, getting it done on 19 swings for a .263 hitting percentage. He added an ace, two digs, and three solo blocks to his performance, totaling a team-high 12 points

• Tristan Henderson tallied 6 kills on 11 attempts and had a solo block

• Daniel Mangan had 10 assists and 3 digs in two sets played

What's Next

The Golden Flyers will look to bounce back on their road trip to Wilkes-Barre, where they will be matched up against Eastern University on Sunday, January 18th at 1pm.