GREENVILLE, Pa. – The Tomcat men's volleyball team finished 0-2 duing Saturday's session of the 2012 AVI Invitational. They fell to fourth-ranked Nazareth University 3-1 before dropping a five-set heartbreaker, 3-2, to Elmira College at Beeghly Gymnasium.

In the 3-1 (25-23, 23-25, 26-24, 25-22) loss to the fourth-ranked Golden Flyers, Dante McCoy (Reading, Pa./Holy Name) led Thiel (6-4) with 19 kills and five digs. Ian Phillips (Meadville, Pa./Meadville) chipped in with 11 kills, eight digs, and 3.0 blocks. Corey Hamilton (Meadville, Pa./Maplewood) distributed 41 assists while Colin Vitale (Pittsburgh, Pa./Montour) added 15 digs. 

The Golden Flyers (3-3) were led by Billy Gimello, who finished with 12 kills, and Robert Craft, who added 11. Dan Mowery tallied 15 digs to pace Nazareth defensively while EJ Wells-Spicer piloted the offense with 44 assists.

After falling behind 2-0 (18-25, 22-25) to Elmira the Tomcats battled back to win the third and fourth sets (25-23, 33-31) and force a decisive game five, which the Soaring Eagles won 15-11.

Kyle Turkalj (Greensburg, Pa./Hempfield Area) led with 12 kills while McCoy and John Turner (Cambridge Springs, Pa./Cambridge Springs) each finished with nine. Vitale collected a team-best 10 digs while Hamilton and Charlie Tindall (Tarentum, Pa./Deer Lakes) finished with 16 and 15 assists, respectively.

The Tomcats will be back in action on Sunday, February 12 when they play host to Siena Heights University and Wells College for a tri-match at Beeghly Gymnasium. Thiel will take on Wells at noon, followed by Siena Heights vs. Wells at 2 p.m., and the concluding match against Siena Heights at 4 p.m.