TIGERVILLE, S.C. -- Playing its first match in nearly two weeks, the Bluefield College men's volleyball team was defeated by North Greenville University in straight sets, 18-25, 16-25, 17-25 on Friday evening at Hayes Gymnasium.

Bluefield moves to 2-7 in its inaugural season with the loss, while North Greenville improves to 6-8 with its fifth win in its last six matches.

The Rams were led on the attack by Connor Holland's six kills, while Matt Epperson added five with a team-best .214 hitting percentage. Isaiah Williams had 16 assists.

On the defensive side, Patrick Hilton recorded a game-high nine digs. Chase Craycraft was in on five block assists, helping Bluefield to 8.5 blocks for the match.

Connor Rhine paced the Crusaders with nine kills. Alexander Schinzing had 26 assists and added five service aces, helping NGU to an 11-3 edge in the category. Robbie McCoy had eight digs.

Both teams put together their best hitting set of the night in the opener, as the Rams put down 11 kills to just three errors on 29 attempts en route to a .276 hitting percentage. The Crusaders had 12 kills and four errors on 27 attempts to hit at a .296 clip.

The Rams fell behind 9-3 early, but rallied back with a 7-2 answer to trim the deficit to one, 11-10. The Crusaders commited a trio of errors, while BC had aces from Holland and Craycraft and kills from Epperson and David Gianesin.

But, NGU found some separation and took the first by a 25-18 margin.

Bluefield raced out to a 6-3 lead in the second set, but the Crusaders quickly flipped momentum and gain a 12-8 advantage. Bluefield commited seven attack errors in the second set, as North Greenville went on to the 25-16 set win.

An early 5-0 run for the Crusaders provided a spark for the hosts as they took the third set 25-17. Neither team was efficient in the final set though, combining for 17 errors.

The Rams return to action at the Dome Gymnasium on Tuesday, February 24 against Bryan College. First serve is slated for 6:30 p.m.