ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, NY – The SUNYIT men's volleyball team dropped a 3-1 decision (19-25, 25-18, 20-25, 27-29) to Bard College in the team's first-ever match as a member of the newly-formed United Volleyball Conference Thursday night.

It was a tight battle between the two UVC East Division teams.  Game one saw both teams tied at 19 before Bard scored the last six points and go up 1-0.  There would then be six ties in game two before the Wildcats pulled away late and tied up the match.  Bard went on to win the next two games, however, holding off a late SUNYIT rally to win game three and coming from behind to win a thrilling game four and pick up the victory.

Freshman Dylan Krowicki (Little Falls, NY/Little Falls) had a team-high 18 kills and six digs for the Wildcats, while junior Ryan Meller (Eden, NY/Eden Central) registered a game-high 15 digs to go along with 13 kills and two solo blocks.  Sophomore Jeff Coon (Cheektowaga, NY/Cheektowaga), the reigning NECVA West Division Co-Rookie of the Year, finished with 12 kills, 10 digs and a match-high three serve aces, while senior Jonathan Brochu (Latham, NY/Shaker) tallied 47 assists and eight digs.

Nick Chan had a match-high 21 kills for Bard, while Henry Kasiske posted 46 assists and nine digs.

The Wildcats will look to rebound this weekend when they host the six-team SUNYIT Invitational.  They will open the event at 2:00 pm Saturday when they take on Hilbert College, and will be back in action at 6:00 pm against Bard.  On Sunday, SUNYIT will open competition against Stevenson University at 10:00 am before taking on Lasell College at 2:00 pm.

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