N. CHILI, N.Y. -- Houghton men's volleyball made history on Saturday, picking up the first-ever program victory, a thrilling 3-2 win over Maranatha Baptist University in the consolation round of the NCCAA Invitational Tournament.

The No. 6 seed Highlanders opened the day with a strong first match performance against top-seed Warner University. Houghton won the first set of the match 25-21 (their first set win of the season) before succumbing to the Royals, 3-1 (21-25, 25-7, 25-21, 25-18). The Highlanders jumped out to a 4-1 first set lead, but the Royals responded to go up 11-7. Still down four points (16-12), Houghton fought back to even the score at 16, and the two teams battled back and forth down the stretch. Warner was up 20-18, but Houghton used a 7-1 run to close out the set. After a rough second game, the Highlanders fought valiantly in the third and fourth sets and were with a few points of the lead throughout each, but Warner proved too strong in the end.

Elijah Sproull led the Highlanders with eight kills and 12 digs, while adding seven assists. Jerry Buno had a team-high 11 assists. Devin Burns chipped in five kills and five digs.

Against Maranatha, the Highlanders jumped out to a 2-0 lead, but had to hang on to win in a five-set thriller (25-22, 34-32, 25-27, 15-25, 15-11). The first three sets showed that these teams were going to be in for a fight. Set one was controlled early by the Highlanders, and after forging a 16-11 lead, they had enough to hold off the Sabercats and claim the win. The second set was a marathon, with neither team getting more than a four-point lead, and neither going up by more than one once the score reached 23-22 in favor of the Highlanders. With his team up 33-32, Sproull killed the decisive point.

Any momentum the Highlanders gained after the second set was soon lost, as Maranatha started playing more efficiently on the attack and claimed the next two sets to send the match to the fifth and deciding game. 

The Sabercats seized control early, putting the Highlanders on their heels with a quick 4-0 advantage. Slowly Houghton clawed their way back, tying the score at seven, before the teams once again went on a back and forth exchange of points for the next few minutes. With the score tied at 10, Houghton took advantage of two attack errors, a kill by Sproull and an ace by Buno to give the Highlanders a 14-10 lead and put them on the precipice of their first win. After a sideout gave a point and the serve to the Sabercats, Burns ended the match with a kill off an assist from Buno.

The high-scoring affair produced career nights statistically for the Highlanders. Sproull once again led the Highlanders with 19 kills, while adding 23 assists and six digs. Burns was equally impressive, producing 13 kills and tying with a team-high 19 digs. Elijah Studt produced 11 kills and a team-high .261 hitting percentage. Buno finished with the team lead in assists with 26 while adding 10 digs. Defensively, Anthony Panboon (19 digs) and Gabriel Lucena (18 digs) played strong. Lucena added five kills. Devin Tullar had a strong showing at the net with six kills.

Follow the action at the tournament website.

The Highlanders are next in action at Hilbert on Tuesday, January 20 at 7 p.m.