BRONXVILLE, N.Y. - The Sarah Lawrence men's volleyball team opened their season against Emmanuel College on Saturday at the Campbell Sports Center. After three sets, including extremely close first and third sets, the Gryphons fell to the Saints 3-0 (25-16, 25-10, 25-19). The Gryphons have a busy schedule coming up with an away match against John Jay on Thursday February 2nd and a match against Russell Sage on Saturday February 3rd in Bronxville.

By the Numbers

• Drew Kendall paced the Gryphons with three service aces
• Felix Massey led Sarah Lawrence with seven points and eight digs
• Libero Lukas Gates also totaled eight digs for Sarah Lawrence while adding two assists
• Juan Paris was the leader in assists for the Gryphons, totaling five throughout the match

How it Happened

The Gryphons and Saints battled throughout the first set, with Sarah Lawrence jumping out to an early 4-2 lead before the Saints stormed back to tie the game at seven a few minutes later. After continuing their solid play and building up a 17-12 lead, the Saints would not be able to stop the Gryphons, as Sarah Lawrence scored three consecutive points highlighted by a Drew Kendall service ace that brought the lead back down to just two points. Emmanuel would score eight of the final nine points of the set to take an early 1-set lead. 

The second set was highlighted by two separate 6-point runs by the Saints as they jumped out to a 10-4 lead and did not look back, closing the set out strong similarly to the first set and taking a 2-0 lead on the Gryphons.

The third and final set of the day was much more similar to the first than the second, with the Gryphons remaining within striking distance but unable to make up enough ground to regain the lead. An Aiden Roney service ace would tie the set up at 10-10 but Emmanuel would score three of the next four points to extend their lead and begin to pull away. A four-point streak by the Saints would put them up 19-13 and despite a valiant late-game effort by the Gryphons to narrow the lead to three points after another service ace from Roney, Emmanuel would take the set and the match by a score of 3-0.

Up Next

The Gryphons (0-1) will take on John Jay on Thursday February 2nd in New York, N.Y. at 7:00 p.m. before returning home to host Russell Sage on Friday January 3rd at 7:00 p.m..