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Bard fights off Sage in Skyline opener
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score
ALBANY, N.Y. - When Bard faced Skyline Conference rival Sage at
the SUNYIT Tournament just 17 days ago, it gave the Raptors an
opportunity to send a message about how strongly they felt about
defending their 2010 league championship.
Bard delivered, sweeping the match, 3-0, even though it didn't
count in the Skyline standings.
On Wednesday night, Sage responded with a message of its own.
In the Skyline Conference opener for both teams, Sage rallied from
a set down twice to forth a fifth and deciding set, and Bard
prevailed, 3-2. The scores were 25-22, 17-25, 25-23, 20-25 and
15-7.
The match was a far cry from last month's sweep. Bard, which is
also a member of the United Volleyball Conference, has been playing
top-flight competition so far. Currently five UVC teams are ranked
in the American Volleyball Coaches Association Top 15 poll, and
Bard has played two of those teams already, with two more on the
horizon.
To gain an automatic bid to the New England Collegiate Volleyball
Association (NECVA) tournament, Bard needs to win the Skyline title
again. Beating Sage Wednesday night helps that cause, but it wasn't
easy.
Freshman opposite Ryan Wilkins (Ballston Lakes, NY) had 13 kills
with four blocks, and sophomore setter Kyle Ray (Horseheads, NY)
had 39 assists and two aces. The Gators are 2-5 overall, 0-1 in the
Skyline Conference.
For Bard (5-6, 1-0 Skyline), junior Nick Chan (Victor, NY) led the
way with 26 kills, six digs and three blocks. Chan had a .370
attack percentage. Freshman setter Henry Kasiske (Los Angeles, CA)
had 51 assists (.443) and five digs, and junior libero Andrew
Cortrite (Los Angeles, CA) collected 35 digs.
The Raptors next play Brooklyn College on Saturday at 2 at
home.
