PURCHASE, N.Y. – The Purchase College men's volleyball team dropped a 3-0 non-conference match to Bard College at home Tuesday night. 

With a set scores of 26-24, 25-20 and 27-25, the visiting Raptors improve to an even .500 (8-8) overall, while the Panthers drop to 2-9 on the season.

The first set opened with a trio of errors between the two teams, but Purchase senior hitters Jeremiah Huntt (Bronx, NY) and Joe Higgins (Bayside, NY) snapped the woes with back-to-back kills, respectively, to tie the match, 3-3.

Bard fired back with four unanswered points—including a pair of services aces from Azriel Almodovar—to take a 7-3 lead.

Purchase trailed closely behind the visitors over the next several serves; slowly chipping away until a Ben Erkan (SR/Bellport, NY) ace evened the score at 13 apiece. Marcus Garguilo (FR/Port Washington, NY) and Huntt later produced back-to-back kills to push the Panthers out in front, 15-14, but the lead was quickly erased following a Purchase service error and a Bard service ace.

Following a series of back-and-forth scores from both benches, Bard erupted with a 6-0 run to go up six (23-17). Purchase bounced back with a 7-1 run to tie it 24-24, but the Raptors eventually took the first set, 26-24, following a pair of kills from Ty McGlynn.

Bard took the first four points of the second and never looked back. The Raptors extended their lead to nine at match point, but Purchase was not ready to throw in the towel just yet. Five Bard errors sent Purchase on a 5-0 run.

Despite their efforts, the Panthers were unable to pull off the comeback attempt as a kill from Bard's Angel Obergh closed the set and tagged Purchase with a 25-20 loss.

The visitors opened the third set in similar style to take an early 6-1 advantage. The Panthers fought back, outscoring Bard 9-2 to take a 10-8 lead.

The back-and-forth rallies continued throughout the stanza. Purchase produced a trio of scores—highlighted by two Garguilo aces that resulted in a 22-21 lead for the home team. Purchase, however, snapped its own hot streak with a pair of errors.

Purchase pushed ahead once more (25-24) following two Raptor errors, but Bard went on a 3-0 run to secure a 27-25 victory and complete the sweep.

McGlynn led the Bard offense with 13 kills, while Quincy Ross netted a match-high .235 hitting percentage.

Huntt had a team-high nine kills for Purchase, to go along with 11 digs. Garguilo hit a notable .286 following a pair of kills, while Higgins produced seven kills on 21 attempts (.143). Jasper Zeray (FR/Brooklyn, NY) tallied 10 digs for the Panther defense and Idris Idris (JR/Bronx, NY) was credited for all of PC's 18 assists.

The Panthers will return to their home court for the Skyline Conference opener against league foe Mount Saint Vincent on Thursday at 7 p.m.