BROOKLYN, N.Y. — Sophomore Max Wang slammed a career-high 13 kills as the Pratt Institute men's volleyball team opened United East Conference play with a 3-1 home defeat to Cairn University on Tuesday evening at The Hill Center at St. Joseph's University.
Wang led all players in kills and brought up six digs on the defensive end. Jason Raymond had a solid all-around effort with five kills, four aces and three blocks (two solo). Wallace Hallot also set a new career-best with seven kills on .211 hitting. Joji Kawamura chipped in six kills while Brooks Reid directed the offense with 31 assists, one ace, and two blocks.
The conference opener for both squads featured 28 ties and 15 lead changes with the first and third frames the most contested. In the opening set, Pratt held a late lead at 20-18 before the Highlanders closed out the set with seven unanswered, winning 25-20.
After a 25-14 second stanza in favor of the Highlanders, Pratt took the third in extra points. Trailing by four late, 20-16, the Cannoneers used a 7-2 spurt to build a 23-22 lead. The black-and-gold fought off two match points at 24-23 and 26-25 before converting on their third set point with a Wang kill giving Pratt a 29-27 win.
The Highlanders raced off to a 6-0 lead in the fourth and the Cannoneers could only get as close as three before falling 25-17.
Cairn (2-12, 1-0) was led by the trio of Joe Poirier (12 kills), Jake Tolar (11 kills) and Tommy Ragonese (10 kills) who all finished in double-digit kills and combined to hit .414.
Pratt (4-8, 0-1) travels to Lancaster Bible College on Saturday, March 16 for a tri-match with University of Valley Forge starting at 1 p.m.
