Men's Volleyball Sweeps Keuka, Falls To SUNYIT At NEAC Crossover

AURORA, N.Y. – The Wells College men's volleyball team posted a 3-0 victory over the Storm of Keuka College before losing in straight sets to the Wildcats from the SUNY Institute of Technology on Saturday in the North Eastern Athletic Conference Crossover Weekend. With the split, Wells' overall record stands at 16-8 on the year while their league record improves to 5-2.

The Express, who have held a share of first place in the overall NEAC standings dating back to the first league crossover weekend on Feb. 15, fall out of first place after posting a loss to the Wildcats, who posted back-to-back wins this afternoon to claim sole possession of first place with a 6-1 record.

In the first match of the day, Wells was able to dispatch the Storm via set scores of 25-22, 25-16 and 25-23. Wells was led by sophomore J.J. Podczasy (Macungie, Pa.) and his team-leading 10 kills. Sophomore Derek Nipps (Turnersville, N.J.) posted a team-best 30 assists for the Express while senior libero C.J. Bayly (Waymart, Pa.) contributed with eight digs defensively to lead his team. As a team, Wells registered nine service aces to record their highest total across their previous four matches of play.

Despite a first set where Wells committed six errors to hit at a .125 clip (10-6-32), the Express hit a collective .458 as a team in the second set, hammering home 13 kills while committing only two errors in 24 total attacks. Wells posted a match-best 14 kills in the third set alone en route to the straight set victory over the Storm.

Versus the Wildcats, Wells was dispatched in straight sets (25-18, 25-21, 25-16). Wells was led by sophomore John Farruggia (Leonardsville, N.Y.) and his 11 total kills on the afternoon. Nipps registered 14 assists on his team's 20 kills while Bayly racked up 26 digs on the afternoon.

In the first set against the Wildcats, Wells committed eight errors on 20 total attacks to fall into an early hole. The Express reduced their attacking errors across the next two sets, but Wells was not able to overcome their early hole.

The Express will face-off against two nationally-ranked opponents on Sunday, Mar. 30 as they play the hosts, No. 11 Elmira College, in a high noon match before facing-off against No. 9 Nazareth College at 2:00 p.m. Nazareth fell to top-ranked Springfield College in the championship match of the 2013 NCAA Division III men's volleyball championship.