GLENSIDE, Pa. – The Arcadia University men's volleyball team fell in three tightly contested games to 15th-ranked Nazareth College Friday night at Alumni Gymnasium by game scores of 25-21, 25-21 and 25-19 to open the 2017 Knight Classic.
 
FOR THE RECORD: The Golden Flyers improved to 10-6 for the season with their third win in four matches, while the Knights dropped to 5-7 with the loss. Arcadia fell to a nationally-ranked opponent for the second time in three matches, as Nazareth is ranked 15th in this week's American Volleyball Coaches Association Coaches' Poll.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED: The two teams exchanged short scoring runs the entire match. The Golden Flyers held a 19-17 lead in the opener before scoring three straight to go up 22-17 on their way to a 25-21 win in the first game before scoring the final two points in the second for an identical 25-21 decision, putting them up 2-0 in the match.
 
The Knights overcame an early 11-4 deficit in the third, using a 4-0 run to get back within one at 16-15. It was still a one-point match at 20-19 before Tom Keisling's kill started a 5-0 run for Nazareth to close out the game and the match.
 
ARCADIA LEADERS: Freshman Jason Manley totaled a match-high 12 kills with three blocks and five digs to lead the Knights, while classmate Austin Braas hit .667 with seven kills and one error on his nine swings while totaling four blocks. Senior Sean Cohen handed out 21 assists.

NAZARETH LEADERS: Zachary Gillard hit .474 with 11 kills and two errors on 19 attempts to lead the Golden Flyers, while Keisling added nine kills and three service aces. Robert Sarneckis hit 857 with six kills on just seven attempts, while Jake Kamp handed out 30 assists.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS: Nazareth hit .282 as a team while outscoring Arcadia 46-38 in the match, which included 9-2 edge in service aces. The Knights hit .167 as a team and held a 6-3 edge in blocking.