Men’s Volleyball Splits Saturday Double Dip

KEUKA PARK, N.Y. – The Wells College men's volleyball team collected a 3-0 sweep over the Gators from the Sage Colleges before falling by a 3-0 margin to the host Storm of Keuka College on Saturday. With the split, Wells falls to 4-5 overall on the non-conference calendar in 2014. Sage (0-4) remains winless on the year while Keuka improves to 2-6 overall.

The Express were able to sweep the Gators in straight sets via scores of 26-24, 25-18 and 25-17. Wells was led by sophomore John Farruggia (Leonardsville, N.Y.) and his 13 kills on 28 total attacks, hitting .321 on the match. Classmate Derek Nipps (Turnersville, N.J.) assisted 31 of his team's 37 kills while libero C.J. Bayly (Waymart, Pa.) racked up 16 digs in the three set sweep of the Gators.

Freshmen Alex Battey (Palmdale, Calif.) and Mathew Armlin (Fort Plain, N.Y.) each accumulated seven kills for Wells as the former made only one error while the latter committed two miscues. Battey hit a collective .400 (7-1-15) while his classmate hit at a .312 clip (7-2-16). Battey also threw up two solo blocks, leading the team at the net front. Junior Paul Hernon (New Hartford, N.Y.) registered four service aces to lead both teams in that category.

For Sage, Dylan Krowicki hammered home 10 kills for the Gators while Matthew DeGeyter assisted 18 kills in the morning match. Cory Gransbury contributed defensively with 13 digs to his credit.

Against Keuka in the afternoon match-up, the Storm were able to edge the Express by a 3-0 margin via set scores of 25-22, 25-13 and 27-25. In the decisive third set, Wells was up by a 24-21 margin but the Storm rallied back to knock off the Express by a 27-25 margin.

Farruggia and Battey tied for the team lead in kills while each made only four errors in the tilt. Nipps posted 22 assists while Farruggia led the team defensively with 10 digs. Errors ultimately doomed Wells against Keuka as 22 attack errors, 11 service errors, 11 ball handling errors, six blocking errors and five receiving errors equaled 55 free points for the host Storm. Despite making 12 service errors, leading both teams, the Storm committed only 27 combined errors.

Connor Hinman secured 10 of his team's 29 kills in the match, committing only three errors on 20 total attacks. Ryan Kelly and John Sprague posted 13 and 12 assists, respectively, while Josh Makin accounted for nine of his team's 28 kills defensively.

The Express return to action this Tuesday, Feb. 11 as they host the Wildcats of Cazenovia College in their home opener within the Frances Tarlton Farenthold Athletic Wing at 7:00 p.m.