Men's Volleyball Downed By Hilbert, 3-1

MARCY, N.Y. – Junior Liam Kaylor (Falls Church, Va.) tied a career-high mark for kills in a match as the Wells College men's volleyball team fell to Hilbert College by a 3-1 score on Sunday. Wells moves to 8-16 overall with the result, dipping to 3-7 against North Eastern Athletic Conference opponents. 

Hilbert took the first set by a 25-20 score before the Express rallied for a 25-16 decision in the next stanza. The Hawks, however, took control of the match with back-to-back victories in the third and fourth sets (25-21, 25-20). Wells defeated Hilbert in both matches last season and, with a Hawks victory on Sunday, the Hawks swept the Express in this season's series matchup. 

Kaylor's 16 kills equals his career-best, set earlier this season against Penn St.-Behrend on Mar. 5. Hitting a team-leading .316, Kaylor also led his team with three service aces while chipping in with four digs on defense. Sophomore Brannon Perdicho (Victor, N.Y.) and senior John Farruggia (New Hartford, N.Y.) posted 14 and 11 kills, respectively. 

Kaylor exited play on Sunday with exactly 400 career kills.

Senior Derek Nipps (Turnersville, N.J.) posted a career-high 52 assists on Sunday. The effort was only one week removed from setting a personal best in assists with 51 against Penn St.-Behrend. On defense, Farruggia posted 18 digs to tie his all-time single match high while Perdicho joined him with a double-digit dig effort (13). 

In the match, Wells posted no less than 13 kills in each of the team's four sets. The Express fell in the opening set, despite hitting a match-high .407 against the Hawks. 

The Express will look to qualify for its second-straight NEAC postseason by finishing strong against conference opponents down the stretch. Wells will take on Wilson this Friday, Mar. 18 on the campus of Penn St.-Altoona at 5 p.m. before battling Lancaster Bible and the host Lions at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Mar. 19.