ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa.—The Elizabethtown men's volleyball team opened up the 2026 season taking two matches from visiting Hartwick, Saturday.

GAME 1: ELIZABETHTOWN 3, HARTWICK 0 (25-10, 25-8, 25-11)
Braydon Ambruster and Max Sears each totaled eight kills and adding four block assists each. Patrick Neyer tallied 27 assists. Cole Burkhardt grabbed seven block assists to lead the team to 13 total blocks.

The first game flew by as Etown swept Hartwick 3-0, not allowing more than 11 points in a set. Etown jumped out early to an 8-3 lead. After trading points, the Blue Jays went on a 4-0 run to lead, 19-8. Sears, Ambruster, and Neyer contributed kills on the run. After an Etown error, the Blue Jays ended the set with five straight to win, 25-10.

Set two began just the same with Etown leading early, 8-3. Etown then rattled off seven straight with help from Alan Lisman, Neyer, Sears, and Mason Boyer. The Jays would run away with the set one as they recorded seven in a row to win, 25-8.

Etown once again got out with the lead to start the set. Two back-to-back kills from Logan Smith put the team ahead 8-2. Three errors in a row by the Hawks put Etown ahead, 11-3. On a 5-0 run, two aces from Neyer extended Etown's lead to 17-5. The two teams traded points until the end with the Blue Jays coming out to a 25-11 win.

GAME 2: ELIZABETHTOWN 3, HARTWICK 1 (25-13, 22-25, 25-5, 25-18)
Arun Gopinath led the game with 13 kills and three block assists. Reid Maas and Indi Singh both totaled 11 kills. Maas completed a double-double with 11 digs. Hugh Rogers tallied 39 assists, three aces, and seven digs.

The Blue Jays pulled out to a 9-1 lead to begin set one. Two back-to-back kills from Singh then put Etown up, 13-3. After a 3-0 run the teams traded points. The Blue Jays ended the set on a 5-1 run with help from Rogers, Singh, Gopinath, and Declan Keller.

Etown struggled in set two handing the first-year program, Hartwick their first set win. The Hawks rattled off five straight to lead 7-5, early. Several ties and lead changes ended in Hartwick's favor as they won, 25-22. The Jays flipped the script in set three dominating the Hawks, 25-5. The team jumped to a 20-4 lead after tallying seven in a row. Hartwick grabbed one final point before Rogers tallied three aces to end the set, 25-5.

Hartwick started off with the lead in set four before Etown was able to regain at 12-8. Singh, Keller, Gopinath, and Maas recorded kills on the 8-0 run. The two teams went back-n-forth for a bit before the Jays took control again. Gopinath and Samuel Ulrich each put down a kill to bring the lead to 23-15. Keller and Gopinath then ended the set with kills to win, 25-18.

Etown travel to Arcadia on Jan. 15.