WILKES-BARRE – The Wilkes men's volleyball team set a new program record for wins in a single season as they defeated Drew University in straight sets in Wednesday night's home finale. Wilkes took the sets by scores of 25-22, 25-23, and 25-21.

The Colonels extended their win streak to six matches and reached a record 19 wins and eight losses, while the Rangers dropped to 14-15 on the year.

The teams remained even early in the first set, trading points back and forth but deadlocked at 5-5. Drew outscored the Colonels 5-2 to take a 10-7 lead, but Wilkes fought back with three straight points to tie the set at 10. Down 18-16, the Colonels switched the momentum of the set with a 7-2 scoring run to take a 23-20 lead thanks to kills by Jackson Shafer (Milford, PA/Delaware Valley), Paul Binner (Tunkhannock, PA/Tunkhannock), and Lucas Mages (Buffalo, NY/Iroquois Central). A service error and a kill by Shafer put the set away for the Colonels 25-22.

Both teams traded the lead back and forth in the second set, with each small run responded in kind by the opposition. Down 21-20, the Colonels equalized on a kill by Mages that set off a three-point run to give Wilkes the 23-20 lead. The teams traded points back and forth once again, once again punctuated by a Shafer kill to take the set 25-23.

Drew took an early 6-2 lead in the third set, but a 5-1 Colonel run equalized the set at seven. Once again, the teams went blow for blow with Wilkes taking a slight 20-17 lead. The Rangers took two straight points to close the gap to one, but a 5-2 Colonel run ended the set and the match with two decisive Shafer kills 25-21.

Shafer led the Colonels with 18 kills on the day, while Zach Shay (Bethlehem, PA/Freedom) provided 27 assists. Shay also shared some of the defensive efforts, splitting the team-high in digs (9) with Noah Taylor (Lumberton, NJ/Rancocas Valley Regional).

For Drew, Andrew DuHaime led the team with 12 kills, while Omarf Ortega-Reyes finished the day with 27 assists. Jacob Sledz led the team in digs with 11.

The Colonels wrap up their season this Saturday, April 6 in a tri-match at Elmira College against the Soaring Eagles and Juniata College starting at 1:00 p.m.