PITTSFORD, NY – Senior outside hitter Gabe La Robardiere and junior middle blocker Connor Holmes led the St. John Fisher men's volleyball team to a sweep (25-19, 25-12, 25-23) of Elmira College on Friday night at Manning & Napier Varsity Gym. 

The Cardinals improved to 14-9 overall and 2-3 in the United Volleyball Conference with the victory, while Elmira dropped to 12-10 and 0-5, respectively. The Cardinals hit a season-high .485 and totaled 40 kills. 

La Robardiere led the Cardinals with 9.5 points, slamming nine kills while hitting .667 to go with a block assist. Holmes, who totaled nine points, had six kills on six attack attempts and six block assists. 

Luke Jata slammed a match-high 16 kills for Elmira. 

How It Happened

The Cardinals slammed 15 kills while hitting .400 en route to a 25-19 victory in the first set. Fisher jumped out to a 16-7 lead behind two kills apiece from La Robardiere, Holmes, junior middle blocker Guillermo Perez and senior setter Aiden Calhoun. The Soaring Eagles twice trimmed their deficit to five points, but the Cardinals did enough down the stretch to avoid letting the win slip away.

Fisher cruised to a 25-12 victory in the second set, during which it slammed 10 kills and hit .444 while Elmira struggled mightily. The Soaring Eagles finished with seven kills and 11 errors on 27 attack attempts for a negative hitting percentage (.148). Freshman outside hitter Avery Kielbasinski led the Cardinals with four kills while hitting .429 in the frame.

Completing the sweep in the third set did not come easy for the Cardinals, who trailed most of the way, including by four twice at 16-12 and 18-14. After Elmira took a 20-17 lead on a Fisher service error, the Cardinals rallied for four consecutive points to take a 21-20 lead. La Robaridere pounded two kills during that spurt. 

Elmira went ahead by one point twice down the stretch (22-21 and 23-22), but the Cardinals finished strong with three consecutive points. Sophomore outside hitter Coleton Welter tied the score at 23 with a kill before Holmes gave Fisher the lead with one of his own. The Cardinals claimed the 25-23 win on a Jata attacking error. 

Game Notes

• Four players had five or more kills for the Cardinals: La Robardiere, Holmes, Kielbasinski (6) and Welter (5). Welter had all five of his kills in the final set. 

• Senior Tyler Cohen led the Cardinals with 19 assists, while Calhoun added 16. 

Up Next

The Cardinals face Hood College and King's College on Saturday in Wilkes-Barre, Pa.