ASTON, Pa. – The Neumann University men's volleyball team battled to a 3-2 loss to Cairn University on Wednesday evening.
 
Ryan Bollinger and Thomas McConnell each tallied 12 kills. Bollinger added 14 digs. Conner Kolek notched 12 digs and McConnell finished with 10. Jules Maiorano handed out 32 assists. Kolek also had five service aces.
 
The Highlanders won the first, third and fifth set while the Knights took the second and fourth sets.
 
The first set started out back and forth before the Highlanders scored four straight points to take a 15-9 advantage. Cairn then netted the final five points of the set for a 25-15 win.
 
The second set remained close as the teams were tied at 20 late. After a kill by Bollinger for 24-22 lead Kyle Slinkman served up the set point for the 25-22 win.
 
Set three was a different story as Cairn scored the first nine points and jumped out to a 16-1 lead. The Highlanders came away with a 25-6 third set win to take a 2-1 lead.
 
Cairn built a 17-9 lead in the fourth set before Neumann started to make its comeback. Down 20-12, Kolek served the Knights to a 20-16 score. The Knights pulled even at 23 on a service ace by Nick Shortlidge. Cairn went up 24-23 but after a bad set and a service ace by Bollinger, Kolek notched a kill for the 26-24 win to for a fifth set.
 
The Highlanders jumped out to an 8-2 lead as the teams switched sides in the final set. The Knights pulled to within three a few times but could not complete this final comeback and fell 15-10.
 
Neumann (2-5) will open conference action on Friday when it hosts Kean University.