UNION, NJ - The sixth-ranked Benedictine University men's volleyball team completed play ath the prestigious Clash at Kean in New Jersey by splitting a pair of contests including a five-set matchup against the defending national champions.

#6 BENEDICTINE 3, #10 ARCADIA 1
25-21, 25-22, 17-25, 25-21

THE DETAILS
• Kills from Nick Malak and John Davis were part of an early surge of four in a row from Benedictine in the opening set
• Arcadia logged four straight and reversed the deficit, leading until Chase Olson opened a string of four in a row to put Benedictine in front 17-14
• Jacob Strande opened the second with a kill as Benedictine set the tone with the first two points
• Up a single point, Malak pounded down consecutive kills to open an 18-15 edge
• The third set saw Arcadia tally 10-of-11 points in the middle of the set to keep the match alive
• After Arcadia scored the first two of the fourth, Mike LeGros notched back-to-back kills during a 5-0 run and Benedictine did not trail, surging to the win and a 2-0 start

STAT LEADERS vs. ARCADIA
KILLS: Davis (14), Malak (13)
BLOCKS: Strande (4), Joe Lock (3), LeGros (3)
ASSISTS: Lock (31), LeGros (7)
DIGS: Malak (12), Thomas Samaras (7), Davis (7)

#1 NEW PALTZ 3, #6 BENEDICTINE 2
22-25, 25-22, 23-25, 25-17, 15-10

THE DETAILS
• New Paltz scored the first three points of the opening set but Benedictine came back to tie the contest on three straight points which included kills from Davis and LeGros
• Like much of the match, the remainder of the set was back and forth and the teams traded the final 11 points
• Benedictine led 19-18 in the second before four straight allowed New Paltz to jump in front and even the contest
• Three runs of three straight points helped Benedictine in the third set and an ace from Joe Lock and a kill from Malak enabled Benedictine to close the third
• The top-ranked team in the nation utilized a pair of five-point runs in the fourth to send the contest to a decisive set
• Consecutive errors put Benedictine ahead in the fifth but New Paltz scored nine of the next 11 to nab the win

STAT LEADERS vs. NEW PALTZ
KILLS: Malak (12), LeGros (11), Davis (11)
BLOCKS: Lock (4), Chase Olson (3), Strande (3)
ASSISTS: Lock (26), LeGros (20)
DIGS: LeGros (7), Davis (7), Lock (6)

UP NEXT
Benedictine (2-1) opens conference play on Friday night against MSOE in Milwaukee. MSOE is receiving votes in the AVCA Poll and defeated Benedictine in Wisconsin last year.

THIS STORY WILL BE UPDATED THROUGHOUT THE NIGHT