HAWKS HOLD OFF EXPRESS

AURORA, N.Y. – The Wells College men's volleyball team fell 3-0 (25-12, 26-24, 25-18)  in a spirited match against Hilbert College Saturday afternoon in Aurora. The loss drops the Express to 0-6 on the season while the Hawks improve to 6-11.

Caleb Mannix (Chittenango, N.Y.) paced the Express with 10 kills while Andrew Jacobs (Millburn, N.J.) added nine kills.

Adam Weaver (Stow, Ohio) led the Hawks with 15 kills and eight digs while teammate Frederick Sickau (Eden, N.Y.) added nine kills and five digs.

After falling 25-12 in the first set, the Express battled Hilbert to the end in the second set. Tied 11-11, the Express rattled off six straight points to take a 17-11 lead. The two squads traded points as Wells continued to lead by six 20-14 and would come to within set point (24-20) when the Hawks rattled off three straight points to cut the lead to one (24-23). A Wells timeout did nothing to stop the Hilbert momentum as they would go on to score the next three points to earn the 26-24 second set victory.

The Express again found themselves tied 11-11 against Hilbert in the third set but seven straight points by the Hawks all but sealed the victory as they would go on to win the set 25-18 and the match 3-0.

"Having four set points against Hilbert after not getting past 17 against them last week says a lot about our focus and effort to improve," said head coach Richard Gary. 

"Sometimes the ball just doesn't go down, and we were a little slow to adjust in key moments, which was a good lesson for our group if we want to move from challenging for a set to winning a match.  Statistically, this was a more rounded and steadier attacking team, and I've got to hand it to CJ Bayly (Waymart, Pa.) for running a solid offense.  Let's hope we can continue to get better this week and come out tough at York."

The Express return to action on Friday, March 9 when they travel to New York City for the York College Classic where they'll take on Gallaudet University and Medgar Evers College at 6:30 and 8:30 respectively.