CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. — The Pratt Institute men's volleyball team went to the distance for the second straight match, but was handed a five-set defeat (20-25, 23-25, 25-13, 25-15, 15-10) by Wilson College in a United East Conference matchup on Saturday afternoon.
Jason Raymond had 13 kills on .281 hitting with five digs and three blocks (one solo) to lead Pratt (4-12, 0-4). Joji Kawamura followed with nine kills on .250 hitting while bringing up a team-high 12 digs. Max Wang contribued a near double-double with eight kills and nine digs. Brooks Reid distributed 26 aces with eight digs, three aces and an assisted block.
The Cannoneers jumped out to a 2-0 set advantage before the hosts rallied to win the final three frames. In the opening set, the black-and-gold used a 7-2 run to separate from the Phoenix for a 16-9 lead they held for good in a 25-20 victory. Wilson raced out to a 9-0 lead in the second stanza looking to level the match and remained ahead, 20-14, before the Cannoneers won eight unanswered and closed out the set on an 11-3 run to take a two-set lead.
Both squads traded the lead early in the third, but Wilson rode a 15-4 run to close out the third set 25-13 for their first set. The Phoenix leveled the match at two-all after building a 6-1 lead to open the fourth and Pratt was only able to pull as close as three.
The fifth-and-deciding set saw seven ties, but Pratt never holding onto the lead. With the teams separated 8-7 at the side change and later deadlocked at nine-all, the hosts won six of the final seven points to close out the come-from-behind win.
Wilson (7-12, 2-1) had a quartet of players who finished with double-digit kills led by Jacob McCoy's 17 error-free kills for a .654 hitting effort. Saria Alshaikhali added 15 kills and Vincent Natale distributed 58 assists as the Phoenix combined for .65 kills and hit .300 as a team.
Pratt travels to the Garden State on Tuesday, March 26 to face Saint Elizabeth University in a United East tilt starting at 7 p.m.
