WILKES-BARRE – Jackson Shafer (Milford, PA/Delaware Valley) set a new record for kills in a single match to help the Wilkes University men's volleyball team earn their first conference win of the season with a 3-2 win against Widener (17-25, 25-21, 25-17, 22-25, 15-11) in a tri-match which included a 3-0 loss to Arcadia (25-22, 25-19, 25-21).
 
Wilkes' record improves to 8-3 overall and 1-1 in conference play. Widener falls to 6-6 overall and 0-2 in conference play. Arcadia moves to 4-5 overall and 2-0 in conference play.
 
The Colonels kicked off the tri-match with a matchup against Widener. In the first set, Wilkes went back and forth with the Pride scoring points. Wilkes was able to notch 12 kills in the set, led by Shafer with five. Zach Shay (Bethlehem, PA/Freedom) had nine assists in the set.
 
The Pride had 13 kills in the first set and 12 assists.
 
In the second set, the Colonels went on a four-point run that included a service ace from Shafer and a kill from Lucas Mages (Buffalo, NY/Iroquois Central), which gave them enough momentum to claim the set 25-21. Wilkes added 10 kills in the set, led by Shafer with five. Shay added seven assists in the set.
 
Widener had 11 kills in the second set and 10 assists.
 
Wilkes was able to claim back-to-back sets, winning the third set of the match 25-17. The Colonels had the most kills of the match in this set with 16, and was able to earn a four-point run with kills from Noah Taylor (Lumberton, NJ/Rancocas Valley Regional), Zach Shay (Bethlehem, PA/Freedom), and Paul Binner (Tunkhannock, PA/Tunkhannock). Leading the way in kills in the set was L. Mages with five. In the third set, Shay had 14 assists.
 
The Pride had seven kills in the third set and six assists.
 
Widener came back and claimed the fourth set against Wilkes after they had back-to-back three-point runs. The Colonels earned 12 kills in the set, led by Shafer with six. Shay added 10 assists in the set.
 
Widener had 14 kills in the fourth set and 12 assists.
 
In the fifth set, the Colonels got off to a three-point lead and maintained their lead to claim the match over Widener. Seven of their 15 points in the set came from kills. Shafer and L. Mages each had three kills in the set, and the seventh came from Binner.
 
The Pride had eight kills in the fifth set and eight assists.
 
Wilkes had a total of 57 kills in the match. Shafer led the Colonels in kills with 22, setting the record for most kills in a single match. He also set the new record with 25.5 points. He was followed by L. Mages with 16 and Binner with nine. Shay had the most assists in the match for Wilkes with 47, tying his own record for most assists in a single match. He was followed by Binner with two and L. Mages with one. Binner had the most blocks in the match for the Colonels with seven, followed by Shay with four and Shafer with two. L. Mages had 13 digs in the match and was followed by Shafer with 10 and Sam Winter (Whitehouse Station, NJ/Hunterdon Central) with nine. Shafer had two service aces and Binner and Taylor each notched one.
 
Widener had a total of 53 kills in the match, led by Dylan Beer with 15.
 
The Colonels' second match of the game was against the Arcadia University Knights. The first set was very close, with the score getting tied up 13 times. Wilkes was able to take a lead of 15-12, however Arcadia was able to close in and claim the set. The Colonels had 12 kills in the set led by Shafer with four, followed by L. Mages with three, and Taylor with two. Shay had nine assists in the set and L. Mages had one.
 
Arcadia had 12 kills in the first set and 12 assists.
 
The second set was also close, but Arcadia got the edge over Wilkes and took the set 25-19. The Colonels had 10 kills in the second set, led by Shafer with three, followed by Binner, Jacob Mages (Buffalo, NY/Iroquois Central), and Taylor who each had two. Shay added nine assists.
 
The Knights had 13 kills in the second set and 13 assists.
 
In the third set, Wilkes was able to gain a three-point lead, but Arcadia was able to catch up again and claim the third set. The Colonels had 12 kills in the third set, led by L. Mages with four, and Shay added nine more assists in the set.
 
Wilkes had a total of 34 kills in the match, led by Shafer with nine. He was followed by L. Mages with eight, Taylor with six, and Binner with five. Shay had 27 assists in the match, followed by Binner with two and Winter and L. Mages each with one. L. Mages had two blocks for the Colonels and Binner and J. Mages each had one. Shay had seven digs for Wilkes followed by Shafer and Taylor each with six.
 
Arcadia had a total of 38 kills in the match and 37 assists.
 
The Wilkes men's volleyball team returns to action on Sunday when they host Bryn Athyn at 10:00 a.m. and John Jay College at 2:00 p.m. for a non-conference tri-match.