BRONXVILLE, N.Y. - The Sarah Lawrence men's volleyball team fell to Purchase College and St. Joseph's Brooklyn in Saturday's home tri-match. The Gryphons fell to the Panthers in three sets and the Bears in a grueling five-set match that saw the Gryphons erase a two-set deficit to force a deciding fifth set. The Panthers defeated the Bears in three sets in the day's middle match.

Top Performers

• Nate Davis totaled 39 kills on the day, adding in 30 digs and three service aces, including a 25-kill and 22-dig performance in the day's second match
• Kian Silva totaled 60 assists, 21 digs and six total blocks
• Aidan Roney totaled nine kills on the day to pair with two service aces and four blocks

Match #1: Purchase def. Sarah Lawrence 3-0 (25-20, 25-17, 25-17)

The two teams exchanged scoring runs throughout the first set, eventually giving the Panthers a 13-9 advantage. In response, three straight points would go to the Gryphons, with two kills sandwiching a Silva/Jozef Kandrac double block to reduce the lead to one. After trading points on the next few rallies, back-to-back kills by Davis and Derek Hickman tied the set at 17. Two more points would be traded to make it 18-18 but then the Panthers would take the next four points to claim a 22-18 advantage. A Silva/Hickman double block and a Purchase error would bring the score to 22-20, but two kills by Purchase's Tyler Ryan in the final three rallies would allow the Panthers to take a 25-20 first-set victory.

The second set saw the Panthers get ahead early and maintain their lead throughout the set. Kills by Davis, Hickman and Roney would keep the set close at 7-6, but the Panthers would score seven of the next nine points to extend their advantage to six points. Roney and Davis would collect kills down the line and Roney would team up with Kandrac for a double block at set point, but it would not be enough as the visitors took a commanding 2-0 lead in the match. The third set saw a 3-0 run by the Panthers answered by the same from SLC but another four-point streak by the visitors in response would be too much to overcome. A handful of kills by Davis and a block by Silva and Hickman would not be enough to overcome the offense of the Panthers, as they took the third set by a score of 25-17, taking six of the match's final seven points.

Match #2: St. Joseph's Brooklyn def. Sarah Lawrence 3-2 (25-22, 25-23, 20-25, 18-25, 15-9)

The second match of the day for SLC started off with a 5-0 SJBK run that featured two SLC errors and a service ace by the Bears. The Gryphons would respond and work their way back to a two-point deficit at 6-4, but the Bears would maintain that narrow lead for the majority of the match. After an Alex Helfant kill increased SJBK's lead to five, a Ralph Calle-Schulz kill and a service ace by Roney reduced the lead to three, but an immediate three-point swing in favor of the visitors would erase any SLC momentum and bring the lead to 20-14. Another score by Helfant brought the score to 23-17, but the Gryphons would not go down easily. Two Nate Davis kills sandwiched a Silva/Roney block and the lead was reduced to three points. Helfant struck again to give the Bears match point, and after two SJBK errors, a mishap by the Gryphons gave the visitors a 1-0 advantage.

Set number two was a much more even affair at the onset, with kills by Davis and a handful of SJBK errors keeping the Gryphons in the game and trailing 8-7. A 5-1 run by the visitors increased the lead to 13-8 and a few rallies later the Gryphons found themselves down 17-11 and facing a two-set disadvantage. Seven of the next eight points would go to the Gryphons, as Davis and Roney scored twice each and Davis teamed up with Hickman to end the run with a double block, tying the set at 18 points apiece. A SJBK kill would finally answer to stop the run, but Davis answered back with a kill of his own and another SJBK error on the next rally would give the Gryphons a 20-19 lead, their first advantage since the 3-2 mark of the set. A kill by the Bears would be followed up by two errors and the Gryphons found themselves leading 22-20 with an opportunity to tie the match. Three straight SJBK points would return the lead to the visitors and despite an error to tie the match at 23, the Bears would take the final two points of the set thanks to the aforementioned Helfant, claiming a 2-0 lead in the match, heading to what would be the third and final set.

A 3-0 opening run by SLC set the tone for the third set, as the Gryphons built up an 8-5 lead capitalizing on errors by the visiting Bears. The visitors would finally awaken, scoring five of six points to take their first lead of the set, a short-lived 10-9 advantage. An error by Helfant would return the score to a tie until the following rally that saw the start hitter reclaim the lead for the Bears with a kill. A service error on the ensuing possession followed by an attack error by SJBK gave the Gryphons a one-point lead. Helfant answered again to tie and after trading service errors, SJBK's Lasha Kemashivili would earn a kill to give the Bears a one-point advantage. Two SJBK errors would bookend a five-point run for SLC highlighted by a pair of Nate Davis service aces to give the Gryphons an 18-14 lead in hopes of forcing a fourth set. Five kills from Davis and one by Calle-Schulz would be enough for SLC to close out the set, taking a 25-20 victory as the two teams headed to a fourth set.

A Derek Hickman kill kicked off the fourth set and kills by Calle Schulz and Roney would follow, along with a Roney/Silva block, and the Gryphons would claim an early 7-3 lead. The Bears would slowly work their way back into a tie, using a three-point run to bring the score to 10-10. A pair of Davis kills and a Nikos Diaz service ace gave the Gryphons a 13-11 advantage, but two rallies later the Bears had tied the set. Kills by Roney, Davis and Calle Schulz combined with another ace by Davis to give SLC a 6-1 run en route to a 19-14 advantage, hoping to force a deciding fifth set. SJBK would claim three straight points to reduce the lead to two, but a Silva/Hickman block would be followed by two kills, an SJBK error and a solo block by Hickman and the Gryphons found themselves at set point with a 24-17 lead. Helfant once again stepped up for SJBK, but it would not be enough as a service error by the Bears on the ensuing rally game SLC a 25-18 set victory and swung momentum in favor of the Gryphons heading into the final set.

The fifth set was closely-contested early on, with the Bears clinging onto a narrow 3-2 lead. Kills by Hickman and Davis bookended a 4-0 run and the Gryphons found themselves leading 6-3 with the match on the line. The Bears would not go down, embarking on a run of their own starting on the next possession. Kills by Helfant opened and closed the run with a Frank Tello and Richard Ortega double block highlighting the streak. The Bears took five straight points, returning the lead to the visitors, who now held a two-point advantage as the teams switched sides. Davis and Helfant traded kills and two SJBK errors brought the set to a 9-9 tie. The final six points would all go the way of the Bears, with four SLC errors and two SJBK kills allowing the Bears to escape with a 3-2 victory after the Gryphons had rallied from down two sets to none.

Up Next

The Gryphons (5-16, Skyline 4-10) will return to action on Wednesday, March 27th as they head to Jersey City to take on the Gothic Knights of NJCU for a 7:00 p.m. Skyline matchup at the JJ Moore Athletic Center. SLC's next and final home date will be on April 6th as they celebrate senior day with am=n 11:00 a.m. tri-match featuring Manhattanville and Old Westbury.