LANGHORNE, PA – Cairn Men's Volleyball hosted Valley Forge in the United East Men's Volleyball Championship – First Round, sending the Patriots packing in four sets.
 
#3 Cairn (11-8 / 6-2 UNITED EAST) opened on a 5-0 run as graduate outside hitter Noah Ruiz Esparza (Levittown, PA / Berean Academy) had two early kills. Keeping their distance, the Highlanders had a lead down the stretch before #6 Valley Forge (10-10 / 3-5 UNITED EAST) went running to cut the lead to one at 19-18. Cairn answered right back with blocks by juniors David Larbi (Bensalem, PA / Bensalem) and Josh Adler (Levittown, PA / Neshaminy) to get back up 23-18. Larbi forced set point with a kill as Adler won the first set on an ace (25-20).
 
Both squads traded kills early in the second before the Patriots took over with a small lead, staying ahead as Cairn would come as close as one point. As Cairn got the serve back late, freshman setter Estiver Espiritusanto (Los Llanos, Dominican Republic / Thomas A. Edison) scored an ace ahead of kills by sophomore outside hitter Sam Poirier (Nogyang, South Korea / International Christian School Uijeongbu) and Larbi finally took the lead at 25-24 with a kill each. Valley Forge rallied to win the set 27-25 on three straight kills.
 
The Highlanders got ahead in the third set, running to 9-5 and then 12-7 as sophomore outside hitter Jesse Stuart (Chattanooga, TN / Chiang Rai International Christian School) had two kills with Larbi adding two more blocks. As Stuart scored an ace, Poirier kept firing the ball over as Larbi and Ruiz Esparza teamed up on a block to extend the lead to 23-16. Larbi pushed it to set point as the Patriots handed it over with a service error, 25-19.
 
The fourth set had the Highlanders in control the whole way, opening on a 9-1 run as Larbi picked up three block assists and a kill. Stuart's kill kept Cairn on pace as they continued running to 19-5 as Ruiz Esparza managed three aces in a throw as well as a kill, holding Valley Forge to single digits for most of the set. As the Patriots would rally to 23-13, Poirer and Ruiz Esparza clinched the match with kills, 25-14, moving on to the next round.
 
Poirier led the way with twelve kills as Ruiz Esparza was next with ten with four aces and four block assists for a game-high 16 points. Larbi had a phenomenal night as well with nine kills and nine blocks, two solos and seven block assists, for 14.5 points. Stuart chipped in with eight kills while Adler had 30 assists in the four-set match.
 
Cairn will head to #2 Wilson College on Wednesday in Chambersburg at 7 p.m. for the Semifinal Round.