WILKES-BARRE, PA. – The Wilkes University men's volleyball squad continued their early season homestand as they hosted the Neumann Knights in a nonconference match Tuesday evening at the Marts Center.
 
The Colonels (4-4) swept the Knights (0-3) in 25-12, 25-9, 25-15 fashion to take home a 3-0 victory and their third straight win. 
 
A 7-0 run with sophomore Noah Taylor (Lumberton, NJ/Rancocas Valley Regional) recording three aces put the Colonels firmly in the driver's seat in set one, and never led by less than five points the rest of the way.   The Knights would record nine errors in the set as the Colonels took a 25-12 victory.  The Colonels jumped out to a 4-0 lead to start the second set and never looked back, with a 16-3 run essentially shutting out the Knights from the set.
 
The Knights took their largest lead of the night at 5-3 in the third set, but a 5-0 Colonel run followed by a 3-0 Neumann run left the set tied at eight all.  A 7-2 run put the set in the Colonels favor for good, and Neumann would never get closer than within three points of the Colonels before a 6-1 Navy and Gold run ended the set and match.
 
Wilkes finished the evening with a .273 hitting percentage, while the Knights had a -.115 hitting percentage.  The Colonels combined for 11 aces, with Taylor and junior Zach Shay (Bethlehem, PA/Freedom) posting three aces each.  Sophomore Paul Binner (Tunkhannock, PA/Tunkhannock) led the team with four blocks, while Shay recorded a team-leading 12 assists.  Junior Casey Shipman (Hershey, PA/Hershey) led the team with 11 digs and added in nine assists.
 
The Colonels are set to return to action Thursday at the Marts Center for a 7:00 p.m. first serve against PSU-Altoona.  The Navy and Gold are seeking their first-ever program win against Altoona, who leads the all-time series 4-0.