BETHLEHEM, Pa. - The Northampton men's volleyball team early season woes continued on Monday evening as the Spartans dropped a 4-set battle (30-28, 15-25, 21-25, 23-25) to visiting Middlesex College in Region 19 action at the Arthur L. Scott Center.

The Spartans, recognized with Receiving Votes in the most recent NJCAA national poll, took the first set, 30-28, but fell short in the second set, 15-25, and were unable to recover, losing the third and fourth sets, leading to the upset loss to the visiting Colts, 3-1.

"Tough start to the season," explained Spartans Head Coach Rachael Aquila, "I felt we battled tonight in some tough sets but just couldn't get the key breaks that we needed. We will keep working hard in practice and look to turn things around. I like our effort. We just need to keep it positive."

Luke Smith (Breiningsville, PA/Parkland) led the Spartans with 27 kills along with 10 digs and 4 blocks. Calvin Long (Allentown, PA/William Allen) chipped in with 10 kills and 7 digs and Fred Patton (Trexlertown, PA/Parkland) recorded 16 digs with 4 assists. Lucas Johnson (Glendale, AZ/Independence (AZ)) had 31 assists with 8 digs and 5 kills in the loss.

Northampton slips to 0-3 overall and 0-3 in Region 19.

Middlesex College is now 1-9 overall and 1-3 in the Region.

The Spartans will be back in action this Wednesday evening at 6pm when they host #4 Union College of Union County, New Jersey at the Arthur L. Scott Center.