Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 Emmanuel match | Kean match | Tournament site
NEW YORK, NY -- Nazareth continued its undefeated season with two victories on Saturday at the Baruch Invitational with a three-set victory over Emmanuel (25-23, 25-16, 25-21) and a four-set win over Kean (23-25, 25-22, 29-27, 25-17). Freshman Tim Zyburt finished with a team-high 16 kills against Kean while classmate Josh Hieb had a team-high seven kills against Emmanuel.

With the victories, the second-ranked Golden Flyers improve to 12-0. Kean had its six-match winning streak snapped and fell to 8-4 after losing to Nazareth. Emmanuel fell to 3-6 after their opening match loss to the Golden Flyers.

In its match against Kean, Nazareth won three consecutive sets after the Cougars edged the Golden Flyers in the first set, 25-23. Nazareth used a balanced offensive attack to rally past Kean as four players finished in double figures in kills. In addition to the kills from Zyburt, senior Robert Kraft and sophomore Luke Lawatsch tallied 12 kills apiece and freshman Grant Levermore added 10 kills. Senior Alex Houghtalen and sophomore Brody Cord chipped in six kills and three kills, respectively, to complete the Nazareth attack. Senior EJ Wells-Spicer finished with 47 assists as he directed the Golden Flyers' offense.

Nazareth's defense was also strong enough to thwart the Cougars' upset bid. Senior Dan Mowery recorded a team-high eight digs, followed by five digs by Zyburt. Houghtalen and Kraft each had three assisted blocks to stymie Kean at the net.

In its 29-27 victory in the third set, which provided the Golden Flyers with the one-set advantage, Nazareth pounded out 19 kills and only six errors for a .419 hitting percentage. In each set, the Golden Flyers finished with at least seven more kills than hitting errors. Nazareth also had attack percentages of .235 in the opening set, .318 in the second set, and .296 in the fourth set.

Against Emmanuel, the Golden Flyers cruised to a three-set victory while showing off its depth. Eleven players recorded at least one kill while three players had at least nine assists. Hieb finished with seven kills to lead the team. Houghtalen added six kills, and junior Cole Hutter had five kills. Wells-Spicer had a team-high 13 assists, while sophomore Nick McDonagh recorded 12 assists, and senior Connor Ecklund finished with nine helpers.

The efficient offense overwhelmed the Saints' defense with attack percentages of .452 and .455 in the opening two sets, which saw the Golden Flyers finish with 31 total kills and only seven errors. Nazareth finished the victory with 10 kills and six errors in the third set for a .154 hitting percentage.

Defensively, Wells-Spicer had two solo blocks and Hieb recorded four assisted blocks. Hutter and freshman Chris Mahan each recorded three assisted blocks. Mowery amassed a team-high 10 digs.

The Golden Flyers resume action in the Baruch Invitational with matches against a pair of ranked teams. Nazareth takes on 10th-ranked Rivier at 10 a.m., then the Golden Flyers battle the ninth-ranked host Bearcats at 2 p.m.