BROOKLYN, N.Y. — The Pratt Institute men's volleyball team wrapped up their 2024 campaign and won the opening set before falling to the University of Valley Forge, 3-1 (23-25, 25-21, 25-14, 25-18) in a United East Conference match on Tuesday evening at The Hill Center.
The program honored K Johnson and Joji Kawamura in pre-match Senior Night ceremonies. Kawamura registered a 13-kill, 12-dig double-double while Johnson landed three error-free kills for a .333 hitting night, also bringing up a trio of digs.
Jason Raymond led all attackers with 15 kills along with seven digs and three aces. Max Wang and Wallace Hallot chipped in four kills apiece. Brooks Reid distributed 32 assists with three kills, two aces and eight blocks. Jude Fox anchored the back line with 15 digs.
Pratt never trailed in the opening set building a 14-9 lead midway through the frame. Valley Forge rallied to tie the set at 23-all before the Cannoneers closed out the set on a Kawamura kill and a Patriots' miscue.
The visitors built a 10-3 lead early in the second, but Pratt closed the deficit to 23-20 before running out of time. The Patriots jumped out to another early lead in the third, 10-4, and maintained their distance for a 2-1 set lead.
A highly contested fourth set saw 10 ties and five lead changes early. With the set knotted at 15-all, the Patriots used a 5-1 run to create some space and close out the match in four.
Valley Forge (10-11, 2-3) placed three attackers in double-figure kills led by Nathan Whisman's 14 kills on .429 hitting. Clay Confer and Tyler Younger added 11 and 10 kills respectively.
Pratt concludes their first season under Head Coach Alexander Moule with a 5-14 record overall. Despite finishing 0-6 in United East Conference play, the Cannoneers took three matches to five sets, two matches to four sets and just one loss in straight sets.
