WILKES-BARRE – Three Colonels finished with eight kills to help lead the Wilkes University men's volleyball team to a Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) victory over Eastern University at the Marts Center Thursday night. Wilkes took the match 3-1 (25-18, 25-15, 12-25, 25-13).

Wilkes improved to 8-7 overall and to 3-3 in MAC matches this season. Both win totals equal the marks recorded by the team one year ago with eleven matches still left on the schedule including eight conference matches. Eastern, in its inaugural season of competition, fell to 5-5 overall 1-5 in the conference.

The Wilkes block proved to be a strength as the home side held a 10-3 advantage at the net. The Colonels also finished with a .195 hitting percentage compared to -.036 by the Eagles.

The Colonels gained the upper hand early in the first set with a 10-point run that stretched their lead to 15-4. Andrew Potter (Nazareth, PA/Nazareth) was at the service line for Wilkes during the long run which was aided by seven Eastern errors. The Eagles closed in the rest of the way but the Colonels had an insurmountable lead and took the first set 25-18.

Wilkes jumped ahead 6-0 in the second set following points by way of a block by Jones Mensah (Philadelphia, PA/Central) and Cole Hefner (East Greenville, PA/Southern Lehigh), two kills by Potter, a kill by Mensah and an ace by Mark Piotrowski (Milford, PA/Delaware Valley). Eastern closed the gap to three points at 11-8 but Wilkes scored the next four to extend its lead back out. Piotrowski and Mensah had kills and Daniel Sales (Laflin, PA/James M. Coughlin) provided an ace during the run. Back-to-back blocks, first by Ethan Speicher (Midlothian, VA/Cosby) and Mensah and then by Sales and Speicher, followed by a Potter kill stretched the Colonels lead to 21-11. Wilkes finished off the second set at 25-15 to go ahead 2-0 in the match.

Eastern did not go away easily and were helped out by 11 Colonel attack errors in the third set as the Eagles won handily 25-12 to force a fourth set.

Wilkes righted the ship and grabbed ahold of a 5-1 lead early in the fourth following kills by Hefner, Mensah and Potter. The Colonels continued to stretch the lead throughout, reaching a set-high 12 points as Potter put away the final point with a kill off a pass from Sales as Wilkes won 25-13 and the match 3-1.

Potter, Mensah and Piotrowski all finished with eight kills. Speicher added seven kills and had a match-high hitting percentage of .636 as he had 11 total attacks with no errors. Speicher led Wilkes with six blocks while Sales added a season-high five blocks and also had 28 assists and four aces. Kyle Price (Mountaintop, PA/Crestwood) led all players with seven digs.

Darren Lopez led Eastern with a match-high 11 kills.

The Colonels have off for spring break before returning to the court on Tuesday, March 12 for a key MAC meeting with Misericordia in Dallas, Pa. at 6:00 p.m.