Men’s Volleyball wins first sets of the season, takes Bethany to five

PITTSBURGH --- Carlow University men's volleyball won its first sets of the season but fell in five to Bethany (W.Va.) College at St. Joe's Thursday night.

It was Carlow's first set win since March 22, 2025, and the last time the Celtics took a team to five sets was against Chatham on Feb. 15, 2024.

The Bison (1-8) won the first set, 25-19, before the Celtics handed it back to them in the second set, 25-19. Bethany won the third set, 25-17, and Carlow pulled off a 25-23 victory in the fourth. The Bison secured the win with a 15-9 fifth set.

Rohan Bhattarai (Baldwin, Pa./Baldwin HS) led the Celtics with a game- and season-high 14 kills. He landed a double-double with 13 assists.

Angelo Fernandez (Williamsport, Pa./St. John Neumann Regional Academy) picked up a game-high 11 digs, and Ryan Callahan (Pittsburgh, Pa./Shaler Area HS) added 18 assists. Gavin McLain (Acworth, Ga./North Paulding HS) scored a game-high five blocks, and three other Celtics contributed eight kills apiece. Luke Campana (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin HS) recorded six of Carlow's nine service aces on the night.

Carlow gained a marginal lead early in the first set before Bethany took over. The Bison added a little distance midway through and scored three points in a row to lead, 22-16. The Celtics cut the lead to four, but back-to-back errors handed the first set to the Bison, 25-19.

The teams traded leads and tied the score six times before a Bethany service error handed the ball back to Carlow.

Two service aces from Campana and two Bison errors put Carlow ahead, 16-13. The Celtics maintained the lead until the end to win, 25-19, and tied the game 1-1.

Bethany went ahead 13-9 in the third set before several errors saw the Celtics trailing, 14-13. Carlow kept it close, but the Bison put together an 8-1 run to end the set, 25-17.

Carlow scored a comeback win in the fourth set. Bethany jumped out to an 11-3 lead early, but the Celtics did not falter. Carlow trailed 18-17 after a service ace from David Valentino (Murrysville, Pa./Franklin Regional HS) and two kills.

A huge kill from Campana and a service ace by McLain tied the game at 20-all.

The Bison again gained the lead until an ace from Campana and a kill after a long rally from Bhattarai put Carlow ahead, 24-23, forcing a Bethany timeout. Bhattarai landed a kill inside back line in the next rally for the 25-23 win.

Carlow went ahead early in the final set, but the Bison quickly overtook the lead. An ace from Caio Matos Machado (Sao Paulo, Brazil/Bishop Guilfoyle HS) tied the game at 5-all, and a huge solo block from McLain tied the game once again at 9-9 after the teams switched sides.

Bethany scored six unanswered points to win the set 15-9 and the match.

McKay Ginez led the Bison with 11 kills and four assists, while Cole Thomas picked up nine digs. Jason Martin tallied a game-high 20 assists.

The Celtics travel to Houghton (N.Y.) University for a 7 p.m. AMCC match tonight.