BROOKLYN – Pratt Institute men's volleyball fell 3-0 (15-25, 28-30, 18-25) to Purchase College in non-conference play Thursday night at the Pratt ARC.
Freshman Dean Liaw led Pratt with eight kills on 24 attacks, and Ari Grant added five on 18 swings. David Cutler paced the Cannoneers with 16 assists and fellow senior Andreas Haji-Georgi hit a team-leading .214 on 14 attacks, but Purchase hit .223 as a team in improving to 5-2.
Panthers outside hitter Kevin Carges' service ace forced Jason Demas' second timeout of the set with Purchase leading 15-11 in Game 1. An Andrew Schwab ace upped the margin to 23-14, as the Panthers went on to win 25-15.
Liaw's ace followed by Haji-Georgi's kill put Pratt on top 6-5 early in Game 2. Back-to-back aces from Giovanni Spadaro helped swing the Panthers on top 10-7 before a Cutler and Grant block assist made it an 11-10 game. Consecutive Purchase errors handed Pratt a 13-12 lead, forcing a Panthers timeout, and Cutler's backset kill helped up the Cannoneers lead to 16-12.
With Pratt clinging to a 22-21 lead, a Riley Damerell kill tied the set, and with it knotted at 28, a Schwab kill and a Liaw receiving error gave Pratt a 30-28 win.
Consecutive aces from Grant lifted Pratt to a 2-0 lead to open Game 3, and back-to-back Cutler aces later made it a 6-4 contest. Purchase scored five of the next six to force a Demas timeout before a Grant kill tied the set at 10-10. Carges' kill later forced another Pratt timeout trailing 16-12, and an Andreo Otiniano kill closed out the Panthers 25-18 win.
At 6-3 on the year, Pratt plays host to Sage College on Saturday at noon.
