Shafer Breaks Two Single-Season School Records as Wilkes Men's Volleyball Sweeps Drew
MADISON, N.J. - Jackson Shafer (Milford, PA/Delaware Valley) would break single-season records for points and kills in program history as the Wilkes University men's volleyball team went on the road and swept Drew University in non-conference action in Thursday night competition. The Colonels would win three sets over the Rangers 25,23, 25-22, 25-22.
Wilkes would go 17-10 on the year while Drew would drop up 9-18 this season.
The first period began with both teams going back and forth in points as they would be tied at 4-4. Shafer would get three of his seven kills in the period early to get the Colonels up 10-5. Ephraim Smith and C.J Addeo would get the Rangers within two points as they would get their own kills, cutting Wilkes lead. 15-13. Drew would get the game tied throughout the latter of the contest, but the Colonels would keep pushing ahead, eventually Shafer and Paul Binner (Tunkhannock, PA/Tunkhannock) would get the last three points to give Wilkes the first set 25-23. Shafer's seven kills and 7.5 points in this set would give him the single-season records for both categories in school history.
Drew would have a .229 hitting percentage, beating the Colonels who would only have a .206 hitting percentage.
The second set would see Wilkes get out to a 4-2 lead as Binner would get three straight kills in that stretch. Tynoah Ehia and C.J. Addeo would get kills to get the Rangers within two points, but Binner and Lucas Mages (Buffalo, NY/Iroquois Central) earned kills to keep the Colonels ahead as they got the lead to 14-9. Drew would cut the Colonel lead to 17-16, but Noah Taylor (Lumberton, NJ/Rancocas Valley Regional) would get a kill while L. Mages and Binner would add a block to force a Drew timeout. Capitalizing on Ranger errors, L. Mages and Shafer would earn kills to finish the second set with a 25-22 win for the Colonels.
Wilkes would have a .395 hitting percentage, with the Rangers had a .295 hitting percentage.
The Colonels would try and finish the series quickly as they would jump out to a 6-2 lead with kills from Shafer, L. Mages, and Jacob Mages (Buffalo, NY/Iroquois Central). The Ranger would get four straight points and have the game tied at 7-7, but Wilkes would get their own four point run to go back in front 11-7 with two Binner kills. After multiple two-point and three-point swings from both teams, Binner would get another kill to get the Colonels up 23-18. The Rangers would make one last effort to take the series as they would get the next four points, but a Shafer kill and Binner service ace would finish the third set 25-22 and give Wilkes the sweep over Drew. Wilkes would finish with a .257 hitting percentage while Drew had a .190 hitting percentage.
Shafer would lead the Colonels with 14 kills, with Binner following behind with 11. J. Mages had six on the night followed by Taylor's five kills. Zach Shay (Bethlehem, PA/Freedom) would have 31 assists on the night while also leading the team with 14 digs. J. Mages lead the team with four blocks. Binner recorded three blocks, which ties him for the most blocks in a single-season in program history. L. Mages also had three blocks alongside Binner.
Wilkes will conclude the regular season as they return to the Marts Center when they host Eastern University in Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) action on Wednesday night as the Colonels will honor their seniors on Senior Night.
