Alderson Broaddus box l Elmira box l Updated stats
ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- Nazareth defeated visiting Alderson Broaddus in three sets by the scores of 25-23, 25-19, 25-20 and then downed visiting Elmira in four sets by the scores of 22-25, 25-23, 25-17, 25-22 in men's volleyball matches on Saturday. Against Alderson Broaddus, seniors Tim Zyburt and Chris Mahan had nine kills and eight kills, respectively, to lead the Golden Flyers' attack. In Nazareth's match against Elmira, Zyburt, Mahan, and classmate Grant Levermore each had double-digit kills. Zyburt had a team-high 13 kills while Mahan and Levermore had 10 kills apiece.

With the victories, ninth-ranked Nazareth improves to 25-8 overall. Following the loss, the Alderson Broaddus Battlers, who are a Division II team, fall 9-12 overall. Elmira, ranked 10th nationally, fell to 21-11 overall after its loss to the Golden Flyers.

In the opening set of Nazareth's match agains the Battlers, the Golden Flyers took an early 7-2 lead following a pair of kills by Zyburt sandwiched around a kill from Mahan. Senior Josh Hieb capped the run with his first service ace of the contest. He amassed a match-high six service aces during the match. Following the early lead, Alderson Broaddus trimmed its deficit to one point several times, however, Nazareth maintained its lead with kills by Mahan and service errors by the Battlers. The Golden Flyers amassed 17 kills in the opening set with Mahan and Zyburt combining for nine of them.

In the second set, Nazareth rallied from an early 8-3 deficit by scoring 11 of the next 15 points to claim a 14-12 lead. Mahan had three kills during the run and Levermore added a pair of kills. The Battlers also committed four errors toward the end of the run to allow the Golden Flyers to take the lead. After taking its lead, Nazareth extended its advantage to 20-15 following a kill from senior Coulton Every, Zyburt, and a pair from Hieb. Levermore tallied the final two points for the Golden Flyers with two kills.

Nazareth used a scoring run midway through the third set to pull away from Alderson Broaddus and claim the match. With the set tied, 12-12, the Golden Flyers scored eight of the next nine points to claim a 20-13 advantage. The scoring run was led by Hieb, who tallied three consecutive aces, and Zyburt, who buried four kills and added an ace. Every and Hieb secured the victory with an assisted block.

For the match, Nazareth finished with a .390 hitting percentage compared to a .280 percentage for the Battlers. Sophomore Jake Kemp directed the Golden Flyers' attack and finished with a match-high 32 assists. Senior John McCarty and freshman Trevor Gooch had five digs apiece.

Alderson Broaddus was led by Will Ruiz, who had 10 kills and only two hitting errors. Kody Deiter finished with a team-high 16 assists.

In the Golden Flyers' match against the Soaring Eagles, Nazareth rebounded from a slow start in the opening set to win the next three sets. In the first set, the Golden Flyers were held to a .120 hitting percentage as they recorded nine kills and committed six hitting errors. Elmira, meanwhile, amassed a .389 attack percentage on 11 kills and only four errors. With the set tied 6-6, the Soaring Eagles tallied five straight points to pull away. Nazareth closed its deficit to two points several times but were unable to take the lead.

In the second set, the Golden Flyers rebounded by recording a match-high 462. hitting percentage on 14 kills and just two errors. Zyburt, Mahan, and Every combined for 11 kills and only one error during the set. After allowing Elmira to take a 10-6 lead, Nazareth stormed back with a 5-1 scoring run to tie the set 11-11. After the Golden Flyers' rally, the Soaring Eagles stretched their lead back to 20-17. Nazareth closed the match on an 8-3 scoring run, led by Zyburt, who tallied three of his kills during the run. Junior Tom Keisling's kill sealed the set.

The Golden Flyers claimed an early 5-1 lead in the third set thanks to a pair of service aces from Keisling, one ace by Kemp, and one kill apiece from Every and Zyburt. Nazareth stretched its lead to 19-9 following errors by Elmira. After the double-digit advantage, the Soaring Eagles cut their deficit to 19-14, but they were unable to close the gap further. Nazareth had five players, Mahan, Levermore, Zyburt, Every, and Keisling, record at least two kills in the set for their balanced scoring attack.

After Nazareth led 3-0 to open the fourth set, Elmira scored eight of the next nine points to take an 8-4 lead. The Golden Flyers responded with an 8-0 run to reclaim their lead. Zyburt, Kemp, and Mahan had kills while Levermore added an ace. Mahan and Kemp also combined for a block. Following the run, Nazareth maintained the lead through the remainder of the set. After the Soaring Eagles closed the Nazareth lead, 23-22, Keisling converted an attack and Every secured the victory with a solo block. Similar to the third set, a balanced scoring attack was key for the Golden Flyers' success. Kemp, Levermore, Mahan, Keisling, and Zyburt each had multiple kills in the set.

Kemp finished with a match-high 41 assists as he directed Nazareth's balanced offense. Zyburt finished with a team-high five digs.

Erik Griffin amassed a match-high 18 kills for Elmira. Mark Kawecki (13 kills) and Mike Ellison (11 kills) also finished in double-digits. Jeremy Best had a team-high 27 assists.

The Golden Flyers are in action again next weekend when they compete in the UVC Championships, hosted SUNY New Paltz. Nazareth is the fourth seed and begins action on Friday at 5 p.m. when it plays fifth-seeded MIT. The Golden Flyers defeated MIT in four sets on March 5th. The winner of the Nazareth/MIT match plays top-seeded New Paltz on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. The winner of the UVC tournament receives an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, which is hosted by Nazareth, April 22nd-24th.