WILKES-BARRE, Pa – The Wilkes men's volleyball team split with Eastern University and Nazareth University in their season opener tri-match at the Marts Center this Sunday afternoon.

Following the tri-match, Wilkes improves to an 1-1 overall record while Nazareth improves to a 3-2 record and Eastern falls to a 0-3 record.

Game 1: Wilkes 3, Eastern 2
In the Colonels' first match of the day, they defeated the Eagles in five sets, winning the first, fourth, and fifth sets by scores of 25-23, 25-23, and 15-12. Eastern took sets two and three with scores of 25-20 and 25-23.

Wilkes grabbed the lead early in the first set after a 5-0 run put them up 7-3. From there, the Colonels held a three-point advantage through the middle of the set, until an Eagle kill and a Wilkes error tied the set 23. The navy and gold were able to close the set after a huge kill from Aaron Ladd (Souderton, PA/Pennridge) and a block from Aiden Hunter. 

Eastern took control in sets two and three, using crucial 7–1 runs in each to build commanding leads and claim both sets. The Colonels struggled to establish an offensive rhythm, as the Eagles out-hit them .158 to .000 in set two and .323 to .108 in set three.

Set four mirrored the opening set, as a 5–1 run gave Wilkes an early edge. The Colonels maintained control throughout, never allowing Eastern to close within two points, out-hitting the Eagles .216 to .160 to force the match into a decisive fifth set.

In the final set, both teams traded points to start but Wilkes pulled ahead with a 5-1 run to place them within two points of a win (13-9). Eastern would add two, but they couldn't handle the navy and gold's offense as kills from Johnathan Rocha and Carter Otto (Mountain View, CA/Mountain View) would seal a Colonel victory. 

Game 2: Wilkes 0, Nazareth 3
In the final match of the day, Nazareth bested the Colonels in three straight sets by scores of 25-21, 25-23, and 25-17. 

Nazareth took control early in the match, using two separate 5–1 runs to erase an early Wilkes lead and claim the opening set. The Golden Flyers carried that momentum into set two, building a 6–2 advantage and holding off a late Colonels rally to secure the set. In the final frame, Nazareth jumped out to a commanding lead, and despite a brief Wilkes push, closed the match with late points to seal the victory.

Rocha led the Colonel offense for today's match after his career-high 21 kills in game one and five kills in game two which brought him to a total of 26 kills on the night. Otto was behind him with 18 kills, and Hunter rounded out the top three with 13 kills. Joshua Conley (Chalfont, PA/Central Bucks South) led Wilkes' defensive game totaling 69 assists and 24 digs while Alex Derk (Perkasie, PA/Pennridge) was next with 14 digs.

Eastern's Colby Arvesen and Kaodi Wokocha led their offense with 16 and 12 kills respectively while Ronan Landis led in assists (39) and Symir Byrd led in digs (18). 

Nazareth's Sean Frawley and Tristan Henderson led the Golden Flyers with 13 and 11 kills respectively while Aj Burda led the passing game with 41 assists while Quintin Chiles and Frawley both had seven digs on the night.

The Colonels return to action on Tuesday, January 20th, where they travel to Lancaster Bible College to face the Chargers at 7:00 p.m.