Newark, NJ - Taking part in the second day of the Golden Invitational, the Highlanders' men's volleyball team played a pair of matches against Rutgers-Newark and Kean University.

Box Score | vs Kean University
Box Score | vs Rutgers-Newark

Cairn was competitive in both matches but fell 0-3 to both Kean University and Rutgers-Newark. In their first match on Saturday, the Highlanders squared off with non-conference rivals Kean University. Kean entered the weekend ranked #12 in the NCAA Div. III polls. Not much separated the two teams as their stats were nearly identical throughout the contest.

Kean won the first set 25-22 but never led by more than 3 points at any point. On several occassions, the Highlanders tied things up late on with the teams tied at 17-17, 18-18, 19-19, 20-20, and 21-21. Kean, however, outscored Cairn 4-1 in the end for the win.

Kean was in more control during the second set, taking a 2-0 lead in the contest, winning the second set 25-19.

Cairn fought Kean all the way to the end in the third set, but eventually going down 26-24.

In the day's second match, the Highlanders faced a Rutgers-Newark side making the transition from NCAA Div. I to Div. III. The opening set saw 6 lead changes and 11 ties, with Rutgers claiming a 25-21 win. Rutgers controlled the second set throughout with a 25-18 win. The third set was back to being a tight back-and-forth match. There were 10 tied and 4 lead changes, but the touraments host earned the 3-0 sweep with their second 25-21 win over Cairn.

Following the weekend, Cairn now sits at 1-3.

Next up, the Highlanders will welcome Ramapo College for their home-opener on Tuesday night. The match starts at 7pm.