IMMACULATA, Pa.- The Immaculata men's volleyball team began its 2021 season on Thursday evening on the road against Cairn. Immaculata and Cairn battled throughout the evening but it was the Highlanders who emerged victorious winning by a final of 3-1 (23-25, 25-14, 25-15, 25-18).

Immaculata and Cairn traded points throughout the early part of the first set before Immaculata went on a run, which would enable the Macs to secure an 18-14 lead. Cairn responded with a run of its own and briefly led with the score at 19-18 and eventually 20-19 but a late run by the Mighty Macs gave the visitors the first set victory by a final of 25-23.

In the second set, Immaculata and Cairn continued to trade points for much of the set but a mid-set run by the Highlanders gave them a 15-7 advantage, heading into a timeout. Following the timeout, Cairn secured the second set victory by a final of 25-14, which evened the match at 1-1 heading into the third set.

In the third set, Cairn jumped out to an early 13-5 lead, which prompted an Immaculata timeout. Out of the timeout, Immaculata and Cairn traded points as the Highlanders extended their lead to 20-13 late in the third set. Cairn closed out the third set on a 5-2 run to earn the 25-15 third set victory and claim a 2-1 lead in the match.

In the fourth set, it was the Mighty Macs turn to jump to an early lead claiming an 8-3 advantage early in the fourth, which prompted a Highlander timeout in the early stages. Following the timeout, Cairn rallied to erase its early deficit and claim a 22-16 lead late in the fourth set. Cairn held on to claim the fourth set by a final of 25-18, which also gave the Highlanders the match victory by a final of 3-1.

 Garrett Pepper led the team in kills and digs with nine and 15, respectively while freshman Joe Martell registered an impressive 26 assist and three block performance to lead the Macs in each of these categories.

As a team, Immaculata registered a hitting percentage of .032 in its season opener while the Highlanders recorded a percentage of .144 in the victory.

Immaculata returns to action next Thursday evening inside Alumnae Hall in a doubleheader against conference foe Kean to begin CVC play.