Men’s Volleyball Wins Back-To-Back Matches, Extends Win Streak

Men’s Volleyball Wins Back-To-Back Matches, Extends Win Streak

CAZENOVIA, N.Y. – The Wells College men's volleyball team picked up back-to-back victories on Saturday, defeating the Wildcats of Cazenovia College in straight sets before battling the Nittany Lions of Penn St.-Altoona to a thrilling 3-2 victory. With the wins, Wells continues to build upon their best season in team history with a 14-6 overall record after winning their ninth-straight contest. Cazenovia (0-13) remains winless on the year while the Nittany Lions improve to 9-6 after splitting both games on the afternoon.

Versus the Wildcats, Wells was able to secure the decisive 3-0 victory via set scores of 25-16, 25-16 and 25-7. Sophomore J.J. Podczasy (Macungie, Pa.) led all players with a .455 hitting percentage, hammering home six kills on 14 total attacks. Sophomore Derek Nipps (Turnersville, N.J.) posted 33 assists in the three set match, setting a program record for assists in a straight set victory. Defensively, libero C.J. Bayly (Waymart, Pa.) struck for 11 digs.

Sophomore John Farruggia (Leonardsville, N.Y.) hammered home six service aces against Cazenovia, a team-high mark. Podczasy added three of his own as the Express converted 14 serves for aces. Cazenovia was led by Conor Scholefield and his three kills. Devin Purcell assisted three of his team's four kills while Scholefield posted six digs to lead the Wildcats defensively.

Offense proved to be the name of the game against the Nittany Lions, setting numerous offensive and defensive records en route to a 3-2 victory by the Express over Penn St.-Altoona via scores of 18-25, 22-25, 33-31, 25-20 and 15-12. Down two sets to zero, the turning point for the Express came in the 33-31 victory in the third stanza, a program record for set length.

Across the five set match, Wells set single game program records in attack attempts (189) and digs (83). Bayly set a program record himself, posting 19 digs against the Nittany Lions to eclipse his previous match high of 18, set against the same opponent on Mar. 3, 2013. Farruggia set a single match high with 61 total attack attempts in the winning effort.

Farruggia led all Wells players with 15 kills, posting 15 digs defensively for a double-double. Podczasy added 10 kills of his own while also securing 15 digs for the Express. Nipps assisted 40 of his team's 51 kills while Bayly led all Express players with 19 digs defensively. Freshman Liam Kaylor (Falls Church, Va.) reached double-digit dig totals with 11 to his credit. Freshman Alex Battey (Palmdale, Calif.) posted three solo blocks and two block assists for Wells.

Wells returns to action on Friday, Mar. 21 as they face-off against Rhode Island Community College, NYU-Poly and Hilbert on the campus of Keuka College starting at 6:00 p.m.