Box Score | Rivier College
Box Score | Vassar College

MAHWAH, NJ - Just a single game into the season, the men's volleyball team didn't waste any time pitting themselves against heavy competition. Instead, the group went up against a pair of heavy hitters Saturday afternoon, coming out with a 1-1 record for the day.

Ranked sixth nationally, the Crimson Eagles found themselves sparring with the fifth tabbed squad in Rivier College, a group that PBU squeaked past, 3-2, during the NECVA Semifinals a season ago. As should probably be expected during a match featuring two top 10 squads, it took the full five sets to determine a winner, with the Raiders pulling out a victory by scores of 25-23, 18-25, 25-10, 16-25, 15-13.

Rivier was impressive defensively, producing 21 block assists over the five game slugfest while getting under 54 total digs. Despite a .476 hitting percentage from the Crimson Eagles during the fifth and final frame, the Raiders put down 10 kills in 18 attempts while committing just a single blunder during the fifth and deciding rally.

Looking to rebound against Vassar College in their second contest of the day, PBU got back on track during a 3-1 triumph over the Brewers, winning 25-22, 25-13, 23-25, 25-17. The Crimson Eagles were more than efficient in the spike category, laying down 54 thumps while attacking at a .316 clip for the outing.

PBU also drilled a season high eight service aces during the win and had five players log five or more kills  for the contest.

Justin Brubaker paced PBU with 48 slams for the afternoon while Noah Prickett added 24. Josh Tuttle proved 23 digs over the two outings and Bill Lukacs chipped in with 13.

The Crimson Eagles move to 2-1 on the year following Saturday's events.

The squad will return to the court on Wednesday during a match-up with Rutgers-Newark in New Jersey. Match time is slated for 6:00 pm.