ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The Elizabethtown College men's volleyball team split on the weekend, falling to Nazareth in five before dropping D'Youville in straight sets in non-conference action Saturday afternoon.
 
With the split, the Blue Jays improve to 10-7 on the year.
 
Senior Nick Baxter combined to hit .353 with 31 kills and 15 digs. Freshmen Steven Swain (19) and Blake Hildebrand (16) each registered double-digit kills for Elizabethtown as well. Freshman Dan Barckholtz tallied 61 total assists and junior Joey Nelson tallied a team-high 17 digs.

ELIZABETHTOWN 2, NAZARETH 3 (21-25, 25-23, 25-22, 25-18, 15-10)

• SET ONE: The Golden Flyers jumped out to a quick lead in the opening set, going up 8-2 after a kill from Kaleb Luton. The Blue Jays countered with an 8-2 run of its own, capped off by an ace from freshman Cameron Krebs. Nazareth, however, moved back ahead by three (16-13) and road that lead to the 1-0 advantage, 25-21
• SET TWO: Tied at seven, Elizabethtown ripped off a 6-0 run to take a 12-7 lead and force a timeout by Nazareth. The Golden Flyers closed back within one at 16-15, but the Blue Jays increased their lead back to four with three straight points capped off by a kill from Hildebrand. Nazareth continued to nip at Elizabethtown's heals, but the Blue Jays were able to hold off the home team's surge, knotting things at one with the 25-23 win.
• SET THREE:  It was a battle in the third set as the two teams landed at a 14-14 tie midway through. Elizabethtown pushed ahead with three quick points highlighted by a kill from Swain and an ace from junior Steven Schreffler. The Blue Jays road that spurt to the 2-1 advantage, holding the lead through the rest of the stanza for the 25-22 win.
• SET FOUR: Nazareth climbed back into the match in the fourth set, running out to a 12-6 lead after a kill by Joe Crosby. Elizabethtown managed to close within three at 16-13 thanks to a kill from Baxter, but were not able to close the gap anymore as the Golden Flyers forced a fifth set with the 25-18 win.
• SET FIVE: In the final set, the Blue Jays moved to the front first after a block by Swain and freshman Tony Camillo gave Elizabethtown the 8-6 lead. Nazareth, however, took back control and the match, rattling off a 9-2 run for the 15-10 win and the 3-2 victory.

 
ELIZABETHTOWN 3, D'YOUVILLE 0 (25-23, 25-19, 25-19)

• SET ONE: Down by one (13-12), the Blue Jays scored four straight points behinds kills from Hildebrand (2), freshman Cheston Jacobs and Barckholtz. The opening set remained competitive and found the two teams at a 23-23 deadlock. Elizabethtown, however, took care of business, scoring the final two points of the set and securing the 1-0 advantage.  
• SET TWO: The two teams found themselves tied at 10 once again after a Dan Busha kill for D'Youville. The Blue Jays took control of the set after that, scoring four straight points for the 14-10 lead. D'Youville stayed within three points all the way to 22-19, but Elizabethtown once again closed out the second stanza with three straight points for the 25-19 win and the 2-0 lead.
• SET THREE:  Elizabethtown hustled out to a four point advantage at 12-8 to start the third. The Blue Jays increased its lead all the way to six (17-11) before D'Youville responded with a 4-0 rally to close within two (17-15). The Spartans managed to cut their deficit to one (19-18) before Elizabethtown took the momentum and the match, finishing things off with a 6-1 run for the 3-0 win.

 

• NEXT MATCH
  Elizabethtown continues its road swing on Tuesday, Feb. 25 against Penn State Altoona. Opening serve is set for 7 p.m.