Langhorne, PA - The Cairn men's volleyball team started the 2017 season at the Kean Winter Classic on Thursday. The Highlanders started the tournament, and the year, with a 3-0 (25-20, 25-18, 25-12) loss against the Hunter Hawks. Cairn followed up the season opener with a 3-0 (25-12, 25-21, 25-20) defeat against the Endicott Gulls in their nightcap.

Hunter College defeats Cairn University 3-0 (25-20, 25-18, 25-12)
The Cairn Highlanders started the 2017 season with a defeat at the hands of the Hunter Hawks. Micah Godshall led the Highlanders with eight kills, three aces, and three blocks. Andy Willits (six kills) and Juston Wolgemuth (five) also accumulated double-digit kills in the match.

The Highlanders hung tough with the Hawks throughout the majority of the first set. The difference in the set was a 5-0 that the Hawks went on early in the set to take a 6-2 lead.

Late in the set, the Highlanders trailed 21-15 but went on a quick 4-1 run to close the gap to just three at 22-19. Godshall collected a service ace at the end of the run but an attack error from Cairn ended the run before a pair of kills from Hunter capped off the set and gave the Hawks a 25-20 set one victory.

The second set opened much like the first with the Hawks going on an 8-1 run to take a 10-3 advantage early in the set. The Highlanders battled back and closed the game to as few as five on four different occasions throughout the set, but could not get any closer as the Hawks took the second set 25-18. Godshall collected four kills and two aces in the set to lead Cairn's offensive effort.

The third set opened with the two sides even at 5-5. Hunter then went on an 8-2 run to take a six-point edge. The Highlanders battled back and closed the gap to 13-10 behind a service ace from Ben Norton and a pair of errors from Hunter.

The Hawks put the set and match out of reach with a 12-2 run with Michael Jazgarski and Brandon Kohler serving. Juston Wolgemuth collected the last point of the match for the Highlanders with a kill.

In the match, Matthew Gump dished out 11 assists and Ryan Ludvik collected eight digs to lead Cairn in their respective categories.

Endicott College defeats Cairn University 3-0 (25-12, 25-21, 25-20)
The Endicott Gulls jumped out to a big lead in the first set and cruised to a 25-12 victory. The Highlander battled the Gulls closely through the second and third sets, but the Gulls got the better of Cairn in both sets by scores of 25-21 and 25-20 respectively.
 
In the match, Micah Godshall once again led Cairn with eight kills. Juston Wolgemuth and Andy Willits each added five kills in the loss. Matthew Gump set up a total of 23 kills in the match to lead the Highlanders in assists and Ryan Ludvik dug out 13 attacks.
 
As mentioned the Gulls jumped out to an early lead in the first set, staking a 12-2 advantage thanks to some sloppy play by the Highlanders. Cairn began getting their legs under them later in the set after trailing 19-6 they made a modest 5-3 run with a pair of kills from Godshall and Ben Chapman and a trio of Endicott errors. It was not enough as the Gulls took the set 25-12.
 
The second-set was a much more even game throughout with the Highlanders trailing by as few as two points multiple times later in the set. With the Gulls holding an 18-12 lead, the Highlanders rattled off a 6-2 run to close with two at 20-18. The run was fueled by kills from Godshall and Joffrey Rosa and an ace from Matthew Gump. The two sides traded points until it was 22-20 and the Gulls closed on the set winning three of the final four points to claim the set 25-21.
 
Cairn jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the third set with kills from Godshall and Chapman. The Gulls rallied back but the Highlanders remained competitive and trailed 7-6 after an Endicott service error. After the error the Gulls regrouped and went on a 7-1 run to double up the Highlanders at 16-8.
 
Cairn fought back, but the eight-point deficit proved to be too much as the Gulls held off a late 7-2 from Cairn for the 25-20 victory and the 3-0 match sweep.
 
The Highlanders fall to 0-2 on the young season and will hit the court tomorrow afternoon when they finish the Kean Winter Classic with matches against Morrisville State at 1:00 p.m. and Kean at 3:00 p.m. Look for live streaming links on CairnHighlanders.com for those matches.