DALLAS, PA – The Wilkes University men's volleyball team earned a split on the second day of the Cougar Kickoff Classic hosted by Misericordia University at the Anderson Sports Center winning its final match 3-1 (25-23, 25-21, 21-25, 27-25) over Drew University. Wilkes fell 3-0 (25-14, 25-16, 25-21) to Lancaster Bible College in the day's first match.

Everett Fritz (Ringtown, PA/Hazleton Area) was named to the All-Tournament Team at the conclusion of the action on Saturday.

Wilkes earned its first victory of the season to move to 1-3 overall.

The Colonels were tied three times early with Lancaster Bible (2-0) in the first set and the score stood at 13-10 in favor of the Chargers. Lancaster Bible, who is receiving votes in the NVA / AVCA Division III Top 15 Preseason Coaches' Poll, then went on a 12-4 run to take the set 25-14.

Wilkes led 9-6 following a kill by Zach Shay (Bethlehem, PA/Freedom) in the second set but the Chargers used an eight-point run to pull away to a 25-16 victory.

The Colonels went on a 5-0 run in the third set to close the deficit to 14-12 and pulled within one point at 18-17 later on. But Lancaster Bible finished on a 7-4 run to take the set 25-21 and sweep the match.

Shay led the Colonels with four kills while adding five assists. Casey Shipman (Hershey, PA/Hershey) led Wilkes with seven assists while Adan Sandoval (Lebanon, PA/Lebanon) and Lucas Mages (Buffalo, NY/Iroquois Central) each had four digs.

In the second match Everett Fritz (Ringtown, PA/Hazleton Area) recorded a career high 18 kills and Sandoval had a career best 17 digs to lead the Colonels to the victory over Drew (0-1).

Wilkes found itself in a four-point whole during set one at 11-7 but went on a 7-2 run to take the lead when Mages converted a kill from Shay. The Rangers went back ahead 21-18 but the Colonels fought back again with a Fritz kill handing Wilkes a 22-21 lead. A Paul Binner (Tunkhannock, PA/Tunkhannock) kill and an attack error by Drew gave Wilkes the final two points to win the set 25-23.

The second set remained tight but it was again the Colonels that were able to score the big points late. A Mages kill followed by another from Fritz and an ace from Mages gave Wilkes the 23-18 lead late in a set the Colonels took 25-21 to go ahead 2-0.
Wilkes led most of the early part of set three and as late as 19-18 but Drew stayed alive in the match with a 7-2 run to win 25-21.

The Colonels trailed 14-9 and 22-19 in the fourth set but were able to battle back to keep the match from going to a fifth set. A kill by Mages tied the score at 25 and then he gave the Colonels the lead on the next point with another kill. Wilkes would win 27-25 on the next point on a Drew attack error.

Fritz earned his 18 kills with a .256 hitting percentage and added five digs. Noah Taylor (Lumberton, NJ/Rancocas Valley Regional) tied his career high with nine kills and added nine digs. Mages also added his career high in kills with nine as well. Shay recorded a season high 28 assists to go along with nine digs.

The Colonels are set to open the home portion of its schedule on Tuesday when they host Elizabethtown College at the Marts Center. First serve is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.