The Misericordia University men's volleyball team finished off the Cougar Kickoff Classic in their inaugural weekend of play with a sweep of the College of St. Elizabeth, 25-20, 25-14, and 25-19. Earlier in the day, the Cougars fell to Hiram College in a hard-fought five-set match, 25-27, 28-26, 25-22, 17-25, 15-12.

Ryan Miller and Caleb Bauder were named to the All-Tournament Team. Tommy Kisick of Penn State-Altoona was named Tournament MVP after leading the Nittany Lions to an undefeated weekend.

The Cougars finish the weekend at 2-2 while the Eagles went 1-3, defeating Neumann earlier in the day. Hiram lost to Altoona in their second match of the day for their first loss.

Against St. Elizabeth, Misericordia was led by Miller with 12 kills, seven digs, and three aces. Bailey Brugler had 32 assists and the only block of the match for the Cougars. Kaden Abreu also chipped in with eight kills.

Down 3-2 early in the first set, the Cougars went on a 4-0 run, which included a kill and ace by Miller, to take the lead. Two more kills by Miller and an ace by Bauder helped fuel a 5-0 run to give Misericordia a 15-6 lead. St. Elizabeth got to within 24-20 forcing head coach Rob Wingert to call a timeout, but the Cougars were able to take the set on an Eagle service error on the next point.

In the second set, the Cougars went on a 7-0 run which included three kills by Bauder to take 12-6 lead. Misericordia was in control the rest of the set and ended it with three straight points on two kills by Bauder and one by team captain Michael Trygar.

The third set started with kills by Matt Lavin and Abreu to give the Cougars the early lead which they did not give up. Miller finished the set with four kills and an ace.

In the morning match against Hiram, Miller led the way again with 22 kills. Bauder had seven aces and Lavin had five blocks while Brugler had 42 assists and Matt Churchill paced the team with 12 digs.

Two straight kills from Miller gave the Cougars an 11-6 lead in the first set. Later in the set, Misericordia was up 18-15, but Hiram stormed back with four straight points to take the lead. However, the Cougars regrouped and with the score tied at 25, they won the set on a kill by Bauder and an attack error by the Terriers.

Hiram controlled most of the second set and built up a 17-12 lead, but the Cougars scored nine of the next 13 points to tie it at 21. Misericordia rallied off three straight points to get to set point, but the Terriers scored three straight of their own to tie it at 24. Misericordia again had set point at 26-25, but three straight points by Hiram gave them the second set victory.

The third set featured a lot of back-and-forth action with Hiram holding a 19-16 lead, but five straight points by Misericordia, including two aces by Bauder, gave the Cougars a two-point advantage. However, the Terriers finished the set on a 6-1 run to take the important third set.

In the fourth set, Misericordia held a 14-13 lead before Bauder had a stretch of four aces in five points to give the Cougars some breathing room. Miller ended the set with three straight kills to force a decisive fifth set.

Hiram jumped out to a 10-6 lead in the fifth set. Misericordia got it back to within two points, but were unable to complete the comeback as Cory Fischer won the match for the Terriers with a kill.

The Cougars are back in action January 27, when they host Bard and Wilson in a tri-match starting at noon.