ROCHESTER, NY – The Medaille Mavericks Men's Volleyball team was back in action on Friday night, taking part in day one of the two day Golden Flyer Invitational hosted by Nazareth College. Both teams the Mavs played on Friday night were teams they had seen earlier this year, falling to St. John Fisher 3-0 and defeating Lasell College 3-1.

The first match of the night was a rematch of the home opener in the Sully, when Medaille took on the Cardinals of St. John Fisher. The opening set was a battle between the two sides, just as much of their first match had been. St. John Fisher held the advantage for much of the set; however the Mavs were never far behind.

Pulling even with the Cardinals on five separate occasions, the Mavs looked to steal set one after tying things at 22 apiece. Unfortunately for Medaille the Cardinals went on to score three straight to take a 1-0 lead.

The final two sets saw St. John Fisher take control towards the middle of each set. The 3-0 sweep for the Cardinals was a bit of revenge for the 3-2 defeat Medaille handed them just 10 days ago.

Sophomore Brazil Thompson (Buffalo, NY, Cheektowaga) and freshman Chris Pauline Jr. (North Tonawanda, NY, North Tonawanda) led the Mavs with eight kills each, while sophomore Shawn Barbalato (Williamsville, NY, Williamsville South) added six of his own. Freshman libero Jake Siwy (West Seneca, NY, West Seneca West) continued his strong play with a match high 12 digs, while junior Matt Dempsey (Clarence, NY, Clarence) dished out 21 assists.

The loss dropped Medaille to 2-4 overall; however, there wasn't much time to reflect as the Mavs stepped right into a match with Lasell on the main court.

The Mavericks, like St. John Fisher in the match prior, were looking for a bit of redemption in their match against the Lasers after falling to them early in the season.

Set number one was a classic. Neither team was willing to give an inch as both hoped to take an early lead. The opening set saw six different lead changes and 14 ties along the way, Medaille finally grabbing the lead for good at 20-19 with a Barbalato kill.

After taking the first set 25-23 and dropping the second set, both teams looked to grab the all-important third set and give themselves a chance to end it in four. Again the set started with a bit of back and forth. Eight ties and two lead changes came mostly in the first half of the third set before the Mavs started to pull away.

Medaille took control with a 6-1 run after it was tied at 13, using that momentum and riding it all the way to a 25-21 win and 2-1 advantage heading into the fourth set.

Medaille didn't waste the advantage they had earned heading into the fourth, despite the set seeing seven ties and two lead changes the Mavs held off the Lasers to avenge their early season loss 3-1.

Thompson once again led the Mavs in kills, this time with 12, with senior Sam Bloomberg (Lake Worth, FL, Park Vista) also having a great hitting match with nine kills of his own. In total nine different Mavericks earned at least one kill, while defensively junior Daniel Joseph (El Dorado, CA, Union Mine) earned a team best 11 digs.

Medaille now sits at 3-4 overall and will wrap up the Golden Flyer Invitational tomorrow against Cal Lutheran and Johnson & Wales.