LANCASTER, Pa. – The Wilkes University men's volleyball team opened the 2018 season with a non-conference match at Lancaster Bible College Wednesday night falling 3-1. Set scores were 25-9, 15-25, 25-22, and 25-19.

Wilkes stands at 0-1 on the young season while Lancaster Bible is 1-1.

The Colonels trailed 5-4 early in the first set before the Chargers pulled away with a 20-5 run to take the first set 25-9.

Wilkes responded to even the match at a set apiece by taking the second set 25-15. With the Colonels leading 10-9 Wilkes went on a three-point run to stretch the lead to 13-9. Daniel Sales (Laflin, Pa./James M. Coughlin) provided a kill and service ace in the run and Jones Mensah (Philadelphia, Pa./Central) finished it with a solo block. After a Chargers point Wilkes scored the next three points on kills by Dylan Smith (York, Pa./Dallastown) and Mensah and a Lancaster Bible attack error to make the score 16-10. With the score at 21-15 the Colonels scored the final four points in the set on two Sales kills, a Chargers error, and a Michael Henne (Northampton, Pa./Northampton) kill.

In the second set Wilkes hit 14-of-17 with only two errors for a team .706 hitting percentage.

The Colonels opened the third set leading 8-6 after a Sales kill. Lancaster Bible then went on a 7-2 run to take a 13-10 lead before Wilkes closed the gap to one point at 17-16. The Colonels closed the lead down to one marker three more times but could not overtake the Chargers and fell 25-22 in the end.

Wilkes looked to send the match to a fifth set by taking an 11-8 lead in the fourth. After the Chargers grabbed the lead the Colonels went on a five-point run to take back a 17-15 lead. Sales provided two aces and a kill and Brian Schumacher (Fleetwood, Pa./Fleetwood) added a kill in the run. Lancaster Bible closed the set on a 10-2 run to win the set 25-19.

Sales led Wilkes with eight kills, 19 assists and five aces. Mensah registered a career-high eight kills. Smith led the Wilkes defense with eight digs and he also had seven kills. Schumacher finished with five kills, Kyle Price (Mountaintop, Pa./Crestwood) had five digs, and Salvatore Purpura (Plains, Pa./James M. Coughlin) dished out eight assists.

Nate Miller led the Chargers with 21 kills and Kaleb Ansell recorded 37 assists.

Next up for the Colonels is a trip to Rochester, N.Y. to face St. John Fisher College Friday at 8:00 p.m.