The Lancaster Bible College Men's Volleyball team wrapped up their opening weekend in Angola, Ind., defeating host Trine 3-2 and losing 3-0 to 11th-ranked St. John Fisher. The Chargers conclude the weekend 2-1 overall while the Thunder fall to 0-2 overall and the Cardinals begin 2-0 overall.

at Trine – W, 3-2 (25-21, 22-25, 27-25, 18-25, 15-9)

How it Happened:
The Chargers raced to a 6-1 lead with two kills from junior Nicholas Marion powering the surge. Trine powered back into the match by forcing a 9-9 tie, then again later at 19-19 to threaten. Lancaster Bible closed the set with four straight points, including a service ace from junior Jake Rotelle and a kill from sophomore Jaiden Flanagan to win set one for the Chargers 25-21.

It was the Thunder who took control of set two, getting out to a 4-0 lead and then boosting it to 10-4 early. The Chargers fought their way back with a 7-1 scoring run to tie the game at 11-all, with senior Dawson Forney landing two kills and junior Zach Wyant with a kill and a block. The teams traded points until Trine launched a five-point run off several Charger errors, but LBC rattled off four straight in response to knot the set at 22. Trine was able to finish off the set 25-22 and tie the match at 1-1.

Set three was back-and-forth early until the Thunder had five in a row to lead 10-5. Lancaster Bible began to score in bunches to chip away, tying the set at 15-all after a block from Wyant. The Chargers took the lead 17-16 on a kill by Forney, but Trine powered back in front with three in a row. Marion and sophomore Jordan Yoder got the Chargers back in front, but Trine reached set point and gave up a service error to send the set to extra points. Staring at another set point down 25-24, Flanagan crushed a kill to spark a three-point rally for the Chargers as another block from Wyant sealed a 27-25 set win.

Trine took command early in the fourth set and never looked back, finishing with seven in a row to take set four 25-18 and force a deciding fifth set between the Chargers and Thunder. Trine jumped out 3-1 in set five, but the Chargers powered ahead 5-4 off a kill and a block from Yoder. Lancaster Bible closed on a heater with eight of the final ten points, with late kills from Flanagan and Forney helping secure a five-set victory over Trine.

By the Numbers:
- The Chargers finished with more kills (62-49) and service aces (5-1), while the Thunder led in blocks with 18 to the Chargers' 12
- Dawson Forney led the way with 18 kills for the Chargers
- Dawson Forney and Jake Rotelle reached double-figures with 11 and 10 kills respectively
- Jordan Yoder notched a double-double with 15 kills and 14 digs
- Zach Wyant distributed an impressive 48 assists while junior Tyler Martin set a career-high with 19 digs
- The Thunder were led by Kevin Boncaro with a game-high 20 kills and 10 digs

Information to Know:
This was the Chargers' first ever matchup with Trine University and their first five set match of 2025. Lancaster Bible begins the season 2-0 for the first time since 2022 when they got off to a 6-0 start. Both Lancaster Bible and Trine made NCAA Tournament appearances last season, with the Chargers losing in three sets to Wentworth and the Thunder losing in five sets to Loras. Both teams also won their conference tournaments in 2024, the Chargers defeating Cairn for the United East title and the Thunder defeating Wittenberg for their first MCVL title as a program.

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vs #11 St. John Fisher – L, 0-3 (23-25, 16-25, 22-25)

How it Happened:
Lancaster Bible kept it close early as they tied the set at six on a kill from Dawson Forney. The Chargers pulled within one point at 17-16 on a block from Nicholas Marion, then the teams traded off the next 15 points as the Cardinals sealed set one 25-23.

Set two was controlled by St. John Fisher as they led 9-5 after two kills and a block. Jaiden Flanagan threw down a block, then the Cardinals scored six straight points to open up a big lead. The Chargers made a late run with four in a row including back-to-back kills from Forney, but St. John Fisher took set two 25-16.

The Chargers had a promising start in the third set, starting with a 4-1 lead off a kill from junior Zach Herb and a block from Forney. St. John Fisher evened it up several times, but Lancaster Bible scored five straight points with kills from Forney and Marion and errors from the Cardinals. However, the Cardinals seized control back after two different five-point runs and finished strong to take the set 25-22 and complete the sweep of the Chargers.

By the Numbers:
- The Chargers led in blocks 8-5, but the Cardinals had more kills (42-30) and held the Chargers without a service ace
- Dawson Forney led the Chargers with nine kills and four blocks
- Zach Wyant had 22 assists and seven digs
- Nicholas Marion and Jordan Yoder had eight and seven kills respectively, each adding seven digs
- The Cardinals were led by Griffin Stella with a game-high 10 kills

Information to Know:
This was the Chargers' first ever matchup with St. John Fisher University and their first ranked matchup of the season. The Chargers lost a regular season game for the first time since March 9, 2024 at Southern Virginia, having won 10 consecutive regular season contests prior to today.

Up Next:
The Chargers host their first home game of the season on Wednesday, January 15 as they take on nationally-ranked Misericordia at 7:00 p.m.