PITTSBURGH, Pa. – Chatham Men's Volleyball (4-1, 0-0 PAC) dropped their first match of the year in straight sets (30-28, 25-19, 25-20) on Friday night to Roanoke (4-0, 2-0 ODAC).
 
Colin Mendoza led the Maroons in kills with 9 while hitting .615 for the match. Cade Kinne and Jackson Rutkowski both contributed 8 kills for Roanoke, with Kinne swinging at a .500 clip. Dominic Wheaton recorded a game-high 5 blocks, and CJ Kingston had a game-high 15 digs for the visitors.
 
Juniors Ben Shelestak and Tim McCabe both recorded 14 kills for the Cougars. First Year Derek Paul racked up 9 kills while hitting .381 with 10 digs. First year Armani George blocked a team-high three attacks, and sophomore RJ Nagg assisted on a game-high 36 kills for Chatham.
 
Neither team led by more than two points throughout the first set of the match. The Maroons were denied the 1-0 match advantage on five separate set points, with kills by Paul, McCabe and Shelestak keeping the set alive, but Roanoke would close it out on its sixth set point opportunity. Set two was a continuation of the battle, but with the Maroons up 15-13, they won 7 of the next 9 points to pull away. Kills by Paul and McCabe pulled the Cougars with 22-18, but Roanoke took 3 of the next 4 points and a 2-0 match lead. Chatham showed signs of life in the third set, leading 12-9 after two more kills by McCabe and Paul, but a 10-2 Maroon run gave them the advantage they needed to sweep the match.
 
Roanoke had a .344 hitting percentage in the match, while the Cougars finished with a .211 attacking percentage. Chatham did not record an ace in the match for the first time in program history.
 
The Cougars return to the court on Tuesday, when they'll face Penn State Altoona for a 7 p.m. match at the Athletic & Fitness Center.