WILKES-BARRE – The Wilkes men's volleyball team fell to Regis College in their Friday night matchup that went five sets inside the Marts Center, with the match becoming official on Wednesday, March 20 following a review of a protest by the Wilkes staff.
 
The Colonels dropped to 13-6 on the season while Regis improved to 9-10.

Jackson Shafer (Milford, PA/Delaware Valley) set the program record for a single match with 27 kills and 29 points while Zach Shay (Bethlehem, PA/Freedom) set the single match record with 56 assists during the 3-2 loss.
 
Wilkes opened up the first set on a commanding 6-1 run, punctuated by blocks by Lucas Mages (Buffalo, NY/Iroquois Central) and Paul Binner (Tunkhannock, PA/Tunkhannock) along with kills by Shafer, and L. Mages. The Pride began to claw their way back into play thanks to a 3-0 run later on in the set, now trailing 9-7. The Colonels picked up a massive kill from Binner in front of the net to bring their lead back up to five points. Back-to-back Regis kills kept the score close at 16-13, however Wilkes hung tough and found themselves in control of a 22-16 lead after an Aidan Hunter (Sinking Spring, PA/Wilson) kill brought the hosts within three points of a first set victory. The Pride refused to go down easily late in the set, fighting their way back to tie the score at 22 apiece. Riding their momentum, the visitors went up 24-20 before kills by Shafer and Hunter knotted the score once again. Both teams were able to reach the 25-point mark and needed extra points to decide the first set. The Pride was able to secure two unanswered points to clinch the first set 30-28.
 
In the second set, the Colonels once again jumped out to an early 8-4 lead. A floating kill by Hunter followed by a Jacob Haller (Birdsboro, PA/Exeter Township) service ace kept the Blue and Gold up 11-6. Moving to the middle portion of the second frame, the Colonels recorded three consecutive points by way of two consecutive kills and a service error. A ball handling error by Regis coupled with Haller's third service ace of the evening brought the Colonels within one point of taking the set. A Shafer kill sealed the deal for Wilkes, who claimed the set 25-20 to knot the match at one set each.
 
Shay got on the board in the beginning stages of the third set with an explosive kill after a long volley to tie the score at 2-2. Midway through the set, the match entered a brief delay to determine a rule surrounding the substitution of a libero. Both teams played each other extremely closely coming out of the break, refusing to concede large scoring runs. A kill by Jacob Mages (Buffalo, NY/Iroquois Central) locked the contest in a 17-17 tie before an attacking error gave the Colonels an 18-17 edge. As the set played its way down the stretch, teams traded five straight kills to bring the score to 24-23 in favor of Wilkes. Once again, 25 points wasn't enough to decide the set as Regis ended up securing a 29-27 victory.
 
The fourth set got off to a similar start as the third with both teams preventing the opposition from gaining momentum off of scoring runs. The Colonels got a big combined block from Hunter and J. Mages to send the Marts Center into an uproar and build the team's lead to three. Up 17-13, Shafer spiked a ball off a Regis player and onto the court to expand the advantage to five. Wilkes maintained a comfortable advantage through the majority of the set and ultimately bested the Pride 25-21, sending the match to a decisive fifth set.
 
After Regis opened the fifth frame on a 3-0 run, the Colonels fought their way back to a one-point deficit thanks to Shafer's twenty-seventh kill of the contest. The Pride bounced back with four unanswered points to take a 10-5 lead. A few points later, Binner injected energy into the Wilkes' bench with a massive spike. Regis ultimately hung on and took the fifth set 15-12 to win the match 3-2.
 
Shafer finished with a team-high 29 points and 27 kills. Meanwhile, Binner recorded 17.5 points and posted a .440 hitting percentage. Shay led the team with 13 digs. 
 
On the Pride's side, Joseph Perez led with 23 points including 20 kills. John Nangle boasted a .444 hitting percentage.
 
The Colonels return to action on Saturday, March 16 when they make the short trip to Misericordia University. The first set against the Cougars is scheduled to start at 12:00 p.m.