ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa.—The Elizabethtown men's volleyball team competed in two thrilling four-set matches Saturday afternoon but were only successful in winning the first match against Roanoke. The Blue Jays fell, 3-1 to Rutgers-Newark in CVC play.

GAME 1: ELIZABETHTOWN 3, ROANOKE 1 (25-19, 23-25, 31-29, 25-21)
Logan Smith led the match tying a career-high 23 kills (.457) while grabbing six digs. Mason Boyer totaled 11 kills and seven digs. Dustin Hagin totaled 16 digs.

Set was started close but Elizabethtown held the 8-5 edge early. Two errors from Roanoke then put Etown up 12-9. Two Blue Jay kills sandwiched a block by Braydon Ambruster to extend their lead, 16-11. Smith smacked down three kills followed by an ace to hold the Jays four-point lead. Two Maroon errors ended set one, 25-19.  Etown jumped to a 7-3 lead in set two and then traded points throughout. The Blue Jays weren't able to hold on though as Roanoke won the set, 25-23.

To begin set three the Jays brought their momentum to lead 9-3 early after blocks by Ethan Scott and Cole Burkhardt. Smith and Ambruster put down kills to double Etown's lead, 13-7. Etown kept pulling ahead before Roanoke came back within one after three straight. On a Roanoke service error Etown had a 25-24 lead which would force extra points. The two went back-n-forth through the end of the set with Elizabethtown coming out on top, 31-29.

Roanoke started off with the lead in set four until the Blue Jays rallied back to take a one-point lead after tallying five in a row. As a result of Maroon errors the Blue Jays were able to extend their lead to 14-10. In the middle of the set the two teams traded points until a Boyer kill and a Burkhardt block ended the set, 25-21 for the win.

GAME 2: ELIZABETHTOWN 1, RUTGERS-NEWARK 1 (17-25, 23-25, 25-21, 23-25)
Smith again led the match with 20 kills (.361) while grabbing six digs and three blocks. Boyer totaled 11 kills while Ambruster totaled a career-high 43 assists.

Elizabethtown struggled early in the first set as Rutgers-Newark started off with an 11-4 lead. The Blue Jays weren't able to come back from the deficit and ended up falling, 25-17. Etown held their own through the second as they traded points throughout. The Blue Jays rattled off four in a row to take a 13-11 lead. Kills from Boyer and Craig Patrick continued to hold the Jays lead. The Scarlet
Raiders then went on a five-point run to retake the lead, 20-17. After trading points again Etown fell 25-23 after a Rutgers-Newark kill.

Starting set three, two Etown blocks sandwiched a Patrick Neyer ace as Etown led, 5-1. Arun Gopinath and Boyer each put down a kill extending the Jays lead, 10-4. Patrick and Boyer then doubled Etown's lead to 14-7. The Raiders came back within four after a 4-1 run. Trading points until the end Gopinath ended the set with a kill to win, 25-21.

Set four saw Rutgers-Newark come out to an 8-5 lead before Elizabethtown recorded four in a row to take a one-point lead. A Boyer kill and Scarlet Raider error brought the Jays in front by two points. Rutgers-Newark retook the lead until an error tied up the set 20-20. The Blue Jays then earned a 23-22 lead but were unable to capitalize on the win as they fell, 25-23.

Elizabethtown is back at home next Tuesday, February 11 to face Widener.