PURCHASE, N.Y. - The Purchase College men's volleyball team split a Skyline Conference tri-match Friday night, initially falling to New Jersey City Universtiy, before bouncing back with a win over the University of Mount Saint Vincent.

Game One: NJCU 3, Purchase 1 (25-16, 25-15, 22-25, 25-16)

In the first contest, the guests rolled to a pair of set wins to begin, before the Blue and Orange rallied in set three to extend the contest.

The set win was the first for the Panthers against the Gothic Knights since 2019. However, NJCU responded right back in the fourth frame to seal to match, 3-1.

Overall, Purchase hit .167 with 45 kills compared to .375 and 53 for the visitors.

Individually, Channing Williams (SO/Neptune, NJ) paced the hosts with 19 kills in the effort.

Tyler Ryan (JR/Port Reading, NJ) finished with 11 kills and a team-high eight digs, while Ayden Mercado (FY/Brooklyn, NY) tallied 24 assists.

Game Two: Purchase 3, UMSV 1 (23-25, 25-18, 25-17, 25-19)

The final matchup of the night saw the Panthers rebound with a victory against a familiar foe - the Dolphins of Mount Saint Vincent.

While the win was nice, the contest served as a homecoming for the Dolphins' staff, as it consisted of former Panther players - Jermiah Huntt '22 and Pamella Gonzalez '24.

The duo played for the men's and women's volleyball teams, respectively, during their Purchase careers. Following a pregame acknowledgment and welcome home message, each side got to work.

Huntt's squad struck first, stealing the opening set with great hitting. However, the Panthers answered the call in sets two-four, securing confident wins to earn the match.

Overall, the hosts improved across the board with more kills (50) and better hitting (.271). For the Dolphins, they finished with 43 kills on .187 hitting.

Individually, Williams paced the Blue and Orange once again, this time with 17 kills, 10 digs and five blocks (one solo).

Ryan added 12 kills and eight digs, while Merdado totaled 23 assists in the win.

With the split result, the Panthers moved to 11-10 overall and 4-2 in Skyline Conference play.

Up next for the squad is a home Skyline matchup with SUNY Old Westbury on March 11th at 7 p.m.