Nipps, Bayly Sweep NEAC Player of the Week Awards

GANSEVOORT, N.Y. – For the second straight week, members of the Wells College men's volleyball team swept the weekly North Eastern Athletic Conference awards for the sport, the conference office announced on Monday. Sophomore Derek Nipps (Turnersville, N.J.) and senior C.J. Bayly (Waymart, Pa.) picked up Player of the Week and Defensive Player of the Week awards, respectively. Bayly has won Defensive Player of the Week honors for the third-straight week.

The Express posted a 3-0 record this past week, defeating both D'Youville and Cazenovia in straight sets before edging league-rival Lancaster Bible in a 3-2 thriller. After posting a 3-2 victory against Keuka on Saturday, Feb. 15, the Express have won seven straight games and strung together 16 consecutive set victories before dropping the first set to Lancaster Bible on Saturday.

Nipps lifted the Express to a pair of conference victories by tallying 83 assists (7.55 a/set), 37 digs (3.36 d/set), 11 kills and four service aces through 11 sets played. Nipps hit for a collective .276 attack percentage (11-3-29) and recorded an assist/dig double-double in all three matches. Against Lancaster Bible, Nipps struck for 32 assists and 11 digs to go along with five kills and a match-best three service aces in a three set victory.

Against Cazenovia earlier in the day, Nipps racked up 27 assists and 10 digs in Wells' 3-0 sweep over the Wildcats. In a non-league game on Friday, Nipps posted match highs of 24 assists and 16 digs in addition to four kills during a 3-0 win over D'Youville. He leads the conference in assists (478) and ranks second in digs (144).

Bayly compiled 40 digs (3.64 d/set) through 11 sets and helped the Express to a pair of sweeps during a perfect 3-0 week for Wells. Bayly reached double-digit dig totals in all three matches, starting with 10 in a 3-0 sweep over D'Youville on Friday. He was also the match leader in digs in a pair of conference wins during NEAC Crossover Weekend play at Wells College Saturday, as he tallied 14 against Cazenovia and 16 against Lancaster Bible.

Bayly, who also chipped in offensively with 11 assists on the week, remains the NEAC leader in both digs (179) and digs per set (2.84) for the Express.

Wells returns to action on Saturday, Mar. 8 as they face-off against Cazenovia at 11:00 a.m. before playing the Nittany Lions of Penn St.-Altoona in a 1:00 p.m. contest in Cazenovia, N.Y.