WILKES-BARRE –  In their first home tri-match of 2024, the Wilkes men's volleyball team completed the sweep of Penn State Altoona and Manhattanville on Saturday afternoon inside the Marts Center. The Colonels took down the Nittany Lions 3-0 (25-18, 25-14, 25-18) before overcoming a one-set deficit to defeat the Valiants 3-1 (26-28, 25-17, 25-20, 25-17).
 
The Colonels advanced to 4-1 on the season, while Penn State Altoona moved to 2-4 on the campaign. Manhattanville, who played their first two matches as a program today, got off to an 0-2 start to the season.
 
Jackson Shafer (Milford, PA/Delaware Valley) got the ball rolling for Wilkes with a kill and pair of aces early on in the first set against Penn State Altoona. A 4-1 run by the Nittany Lions slowed the Colonels' momentum and gave the visitors a 12-11 lead. Wilkes responded with a hefty 10-3 streak of their own that put them back in the driver's seat with a 23-17 lead. The Colonels were able to tally two more points to secure the first set win 25-18.
 
Wilkes came out of the gate strong once again in the second set thanks to a pair of kills by Noah Taylor (Lumberton, NJ/Rancocas Valley Regional) and Lucas Mages (Buffalo, NY/Iroquois Central). Paul Binner (Tunkhannock, PA/Tunkhannock) got in on the action with three consecutive service aces to give the Colonels a 13-5 lead. After a push by the Nittany Lions, Wilkes answered back with a 5-1 run to make it a 19-12 contest. Despite hanging around, an attack error by Penn State Altoona ended the set 25-14 in favor of the Colonels.
 
With their backs against the wall, the Nittany Lions did a good job trading points with Wilkes to stay alive in the third set of the match. The Colonels held a 10-8 lead before a powerful service ace by Taylor electrified the home bench and opened up the gap to three points. Altoona fought hard, winning four-straight points to take over the lead before Shafer dropped a well-placed ball just over the net to stop the bleeding. The Colonels went on to score four quick points and eventually took the set 15-18 to defeat Penn State Altoona 3-0.
 
Shafer racked up 17 points, 13 kills and six digs while Binner put together a 12.5-point, seven-kill performance. J. Mages held a .417 hitting percentage and Shay contributed 31 assists in the match. As a team, Wilkes boasted a .325 hitting percentage in comparison to the Nittany Lions' .118.
 
Wilkes and Manhattanville traded points to begin the final match of the afternoon. A five-point run for the Colonels got the team started with a 7-3 lead. The Valiants stormed back to tie the set at 12 and continued to hang around with the Colonels. Later on, both teams found themselves knotted back up at 20-20. 25 points proved not to be enough, as Manhattanville battled their way to a 28-26 win in the first set. 
 
Yet again, Wilkes played the Valiants extremely closely and opened the second set with an 8-6 advantage. Huge kills by Binner and Shafer injected extra energy into the team, who now led 16-12. The Colonels tallied five-straight points to take a 23-15 lead and successfully closed out the set with a 25-17 win.
 
With the match tied at one set apiece, the Blue and Gold jumped out to a 6-3 lead in the third frame. Manhattanville was forced to use a timeout after a kill by Taylor. Wilkes continued to apply pressure and ran the score up to 25-19 before a kill by Shafer sealed the deal as the Colonels took set 3 by a score of 25-20.
 
Wilkes started the fourth set with a 5-2 run that was punctuated by a Shay kill. After Manhattanville took over the lead, back-to-back kills by Binner and Taylor put the Colonels back in control of a 7-6 lead. Both teams continued to trade blows until Wilkes began to pull away with a 20-13 advantage. Despite a strong effort by the Valiants, Wilkes hung onto their lead and secured the victory 25-17.
 
Shafer led the team with 19.5 points and 16 kills, followed closely by Binner with 16.5 points and 1s kills. Zach Shay (Bethlehem, PA/Freedom) factored into roughly half the Colonel's points with 30 assists. The Colonels bumped their hitting percentage up to .369 against Manhattanville, who were hitting at a .160 rate.
 
The Colonels return to the court on Saturday, February 3 when they pay a visit to Wilson College. The first set against the Phoenix is slated to start at 12:00 p.m.