Men’s Volleyball Wraps Up Weekend At York College Invitational

JAMAICA, N.Y. – The Wells College men's volleyball team dropped the final three games to conclude the ninth-annual York College Invitational, held on the campus of York College this past weekend. Following the weekend's action, the Express' overall record stands at 8-10 overall following the non-conference contests.

For his performance across all four games of the tournament, sophomore Paul Hernon (New Hartford, N.Y.) was named to the York College Invitational All-Tournament team. Across the four games, Hernon had the team's highest hitting percentage (.220, 13-5-35), posted four service aces and contributed at the net front, posting a team-best 11 total blocks including three solo blocks and eight block assists.

The Express posted a 3-0 loss to the Cardinals of York College late Friday night, dropping set scores of 25-16, 25-17 and 25-21. Following the tilt, the Cardinals improved to 16-6 overall on the season. After dropping the first two sets to the Cardinals, the Express and York were tied at 21 apiece in the third set. With Leszek Stankiewicz serving, the Cardinals saw three kills combined with an Express attacking error in four-straight serves for the victory.

Wells hammered home 20 kills alongside 19 errors in the match against York with freshman John Farruggia (Mt. Markham, N.Y.) posting five kills of his own. Setter C.J. Bayly (Waymart, Pa.) assisted nine of his team's kills while freshman Derek Nipps (Turnersville, N.J.) posted seven of his own. Defensively, Farruggia handled the bulk of his team's work defensively, posting eight digs.

York recorded a .306 hitting percentage in the match, hammering home 48 kills and committing only 18 attack errors. Stankiewicz posted 12 kills, as did Edner Geffrard, with the later recording only two errors in 19 total chances. Jon Peter Sardea assisted 23 kills while Terrence Sutton posted 13 digs to his credit. As a team, York did not record a single service ace to become only the third team the Express has held without a service ace.

Against New Jersey City University, the Express were dropped in three sets via scores of 25-20, 25-14 and 25-17. The Gothic Knights' record after dispatching the Express stood at 13-7 overall.

In the first set, the Express trailed by a 7-0 margin but eventually rallied to cut the deficit to four points following an Elicio Olivares attack error to set the score at 22-18 in favor of the Gothic Knights. With the score 23-20 in favor of Wells opponent, two errors by the Express clinched a 25-20 victory for New Jersey City.

Wells also battled the Gothic Knights in the second set, fighting back from a 22-9 deficit before eventually losing by a 25-14 margin. Down the stretch, kills by sophomore Andrew Jacobs (Millburn, N.J.) and Hernon opened the door for a comeback but a Justin Beaumont kill on the final play locked up a second set victory. The Gothic Knights closed out the game in the third set, at one point scoring five straight points down the stretch to take the third and final set by a 25-17 margin.

Jacobs accounted for four of his team's 12 kills, leading the team in that category. Nipps posted five assists and six digs, leading Wells in both statistics. Wells posted nine total block assists in the match as well. Beaumont posted six kills alongside only one error in 10 chances, leading his team with a .500 hitting percentage. Additionally, Beaumont posted a team-best 18 assists and 12 digs defensively.

Against Lasell College in the final game of the tournament for Wells, the Express fell in three sets (25-18, 25-19, 25-19) to the Lasers. Cumulatively in the match, Farruggia led the Express with six kills while Hernon posted three kills in seven attacks, leading the team with a .429 hitting percentage. Nipps assisted 10 of his team's 21 kills while also posting six digs defensively. Hernon assisted with three blocks as the Express posted a solo block and eight block assists.

Lasell utilized 14 players in the three set defeat of the Express. Alex Mill hit .375, hammering home eight kills while committing only two miscues. Lasell demonstrated a strong net-front presence, posting 10 solo blocks and seven block assists.

Wells returns to action on Tuesday, Mar. 19 as they host the Storm of Keuka College in a 7:00 p.m. contest at the Frances Tarlton Farenthold Athletic Wing. The contest is one of only five North Eastern Athletic Conference games the Express will play on the year – Wells currently sports a 2-0 record against league opponents.

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