ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, NY – The Wilkes University men's volleyball team opened competition for the first time winning a pair of matches against Bard and Lehman College Saturday afternoon at a tri-match hosted by Bard.
 
The Colonels blanked host Bard 3-0 before posting a 3-1 victory over Lehman in its second match of the event.
 
Wilkes took the match with Bard in straight sets by scores of 25-14, 25-17 and 25-20. John Pietrzyk (Glen Lyon, Pa./Nanticoke) led Wilkes on the attack with 11 kills and five digs. Thomas Bogarowski (Hanover, Pa./Hanover) followed with 10 kills and six digs. Daniel Sales (Laflin, Pa./James M. Coughlin) led the passing game with 26 assists on 34 team kills while Dylan Smith (York, Pa./Dallastown) anchored the Wilkes backline with 10 digs.
 
Wilkes claimed set one 25-21 against Lehman before falling 25-23 in the second set to tie the match at 1-1. From there the Colonels rallied with two straight wins going 25-23 and 26-24 in the fourth set to decide the victory.
 
Pietrzyk topped the squad again with 15 kills and two service aces. Smith added nine kills and eight digs while Sales recorded 33 assists on 41 team kills.
 
Wilkes returns to the court next Saturday competing in a quad match at Arcadia University. The Colonels open with a match against Lancaster Bible at 11:00 a.m. before dates with host Arcadia at 1:00 p.m. and Cairn University at 3:00 p.m.