ROCHESTER, N.Y. (1/23/2025) – Nichols men's volleyball fell short after putting up a strong performance against No. 17 ranked St. John Fisher University 3-0 (12-25, 24-26,19-25) this evening at the Manning-Napier Varsity Gym.

Junior Bradyn Pomainville and sophomore Adam Vincent powered the Bison offense, each posting a team-high seven kills on the night. Junior Bryce Bonville added six kills to round out a balanced attack. Vincent was dominant from the service line, tallying  a career high five aces, while senior KG Bennett (2) and Bonville (3) combined for five blocks at the net. Junior Evan Sachs continued to set the tempo offensively, dishing out 26 assists, and junior Cade Bernardi anchored the back row with 10 digs.

With the loss the Bison drop to an even 2-2 (0-0 NEVC) while the Cardinals stay undefeated at 3-0 (0-0 UVC).

The Bison opened the match searching for momentum against St. John, with neither side able to pull away early. After capitalizing on two Cardinal attacking errors, Nichols closed the gap to within one. St. John responded with an energetic 5–1 run to break the deadlock and extend the lead to 16–10. Riding that momentum, the Cardinals pushed through the remainder of the set, using an eight-point surge to close it out, briefly slowed only by a kill from Bonville 12-25.

The second set began with Nichols jumping out to an early lead, sparked by back-to-back kills from Bonville. Following a kill by sophomore Connor Snow, the Cardinals responded quickly, evening the score before ripping off an 8–1 run that pushed the set seemingly out of reach. The Bison refused to fold, rallying behind a strong stretch from Pomainville and Vincent to string together four unanswered points. With St. John scoring only off Nichols errors down the stretch, the Bison clawed back to within four at 20–24. The comeback nearly reached completion as a kill from Vincent capped a four-point run to tie the set at 24–24. Determined to shut the door, St. John answered with two quick points to narrowly take the set, 26–24.

Nichols struck first in the third set with an early kill from Pomainville and a service ace from Vincent to set the tone. St. John Fisher, however, carried its momentum from the opening sets, pulling away midway through the frame and extending the lead to 16–8 before stretching it further to 19–10. The Bison made one final push, putting together a 9–5 run capped by a kill from Bennett, but the Cardinals answered with the final point to close out the set, 25–19, and complete the sweep, 3–0.

The Bison remain on the road as they travel to Rochester, N.Y., to face Nazareth University and Penn State Behrend at the Nazareth Invitational on Saturday, January 24, with match times set for 11:00 AM and 1:00 PM.