DALLAS, Pa. – The Wilkes University men's volleyball team dropped a 3-1 decision to the Misericordia Cougars Tuesday evening at the Anderson Center.

Following the match, Wilkes fell to a 6-7 overall record while the Cougars improved to 4-8 on the season.

Wilkes struck first in the opening set, claiming the initial point and building an early two-point edge. The Cougars quickly flipped the momentum, however, using a 5-2 run to take the lead. Misericordia then pulled away with a decisive 14-4 surge to close out set one 25-13.

Set two began evenly, with both teams trading points through the first six before Wilkes used a 6-3 run to pull ahead 12-7, sparked by kills from three different Colonels. Wilkes extended the margin to 15-9 behind three kills from Aidan Hunter (Sinking Spring, PA/Wilson), prompting a Misericordia timeout. The Colonels maintained control from there and secured their first set win 25-19, with Logan Maha (Sayville, NY/Sayville) delivering the final two points.

To open the third set, Misericordia used a 4-0 run to build an early three-point advantage. Wilkes battled to stay within reach through the middle stages, and as the Cougars reached set point at 24-20, the Colonels mounted a late push. Carter Otto (Mountain View, CA/Mountain View) delivered a block and a kill to trim the deficit to 24-23, but Misericordia held on to take the set 25-23.

The Cougars jumped out early in set four, building a 6-2 lead and continuing to attack aggressively through the middle stages to extend the margin to as many as nine at 22-13. The Colonels rallied late, trimming the deficit to four at 24-20 behind three kills from Hunter, but Wilkes couldn't complete the comeback as Misericordia closed out the deciding set 25-20 to secure the match victory.

The Colonels' offense was led by Hunter, who finished with a team-high and career-best 20 kills. Joshua Conley (Chalfont, PA/Central Bucks South) recorded a double-double, pacing Wilkes in both assists and digs with 33 and 19, respectively.

Misericordia was led offensively by Noah Reen and Chris U'Glay with 11 kills apiece, while Evan Schmidt directed the attack with 21 assists. Defensively, Jackson Fehnel and U'Glay anchored the back row with 10 digs each.

Wilkes returns to the Marts Center for a Valentine's Day tri-match on Saturday, February 14, opening Continental Volleyball Conference (CVC) play against Kean University at 12:00 p.m. before facing Hartwick College at 4:00 p.m.