WILKES-BARRE – The Wilkes University men's volleyball team hosted a non-conference tri-match at the Marts Center Saturday.  They played host to the Mount Saint Vincent Dolphins and The Sage Colleges Gators.
 
The Colonels (6-4) swept the Dolphins (0-8) 3-0 (25-10, 25-22, 25-12) before dropping 3-1 (17-25, 22-25, 25-23, 18-25) to the Gators (3-10) in the second match
 
The Colonels came out firing early against the Dolphins.  Freshman setter Zach Shay (Bethlehem, PA/Freedom) and opposite hitter Randall Rykiel's (Glen Burnie, MD/Archbishop Curley) serves fueled a 14-2 run that put the first set well in the Colonels' favor.  The second set the Dolphins fought back.  Another Shay serve saw the Colonels up 5-1, but a 5-1 run in the middle of the set for the Dolphins knotted it up at 11 apiece.  Neither team would see a lead larger than four for the remainder of the set, but a 4-1 run as the two were tied up at 21 apiece gave the Colonels their second set on the day.
 
Shay would once again fuel a large Colonels run out of the gate in the third set, giving the Colonels a 12-3 lead to leave nothing to chance for Wilkes.  The Dolphins would never cut the lead down past the early nine point advantage as the Colonels cruised to a comfortable set and match victory.
 
Shay set a career high with five service aces, while also leading the squad in assists (24) and digs (6).  Sophomore opposite hitter Everett Fritz (Ringtown, PA/Hazleton Area) had a career-high eight kills, while junior outside hitter Andrew Potter (Nazareth, PA/Nazareth) lead the team with 12 kills, also a career high.  The Colonels held the Dolphins to a -.118 hitting percentage.
 
The Gators fired on all cylinders early on, starting the match with a 10-3 run.  The Colonels cut the difference to four points, but found themselves unable to make much headway after the early deficit.  Sage jumped out to another early lead in the second set, this time a 7-2 lead, and a 4-0 run would build their lead to 11-5 not much later.  The teams would trade points until the Colonels went on a 10-2 tear to take a late 22-21 lead.  The Gators responded with a 4-0 run to take a 2-0 advantage in the match.
 
The teams traded runs in the early going of the third set, with Wilkes starting out on a 5-1 run before the Gators answered back with a 7-0 run.  Sage would lead 11-7 before the Colonels struck with a 6-0 run, followed by a 4-0 run by the Gators.  The pair would trade points until Wilkes found their opportunity in the set and took it with a 6-2 run to claim their lone set victory of the match.
 
The Gators struck back with a 5-0 run to start the last set, and would effectively put away the Colonels with a 9-0 run to take a 19-7 advantage.  Wilkes refused to be put out of the match after being down 23-11 and went on a 7-1 tear to close within six, but the Gators would put home the last kill they needed to send the Colonels home with a loss.
 
Three Colonels set career highs against Sage.  Freshman outside hitter Zach Evans (Nescopeck, PA/Berwick) led Wilkes with 16 kills, Potter set his career high in kills again with 13, and Rykiel had five total blocks for his career high.  Shay had 34 assists to fuel the Colonels offense.
 
The Colonels hit the road for the next four matches.  They start their road trip in Altoona, Pa. next Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. against the PSU-Altoona Nittany Lions.  The Colonels are 0-3 all-time against their in-state rival.