Men's Volleyball Splits To Open Wildcat Invitational

MARCY, N.Y. – In its first action of the 2016 campaign, the Wells College men's volleyball team defeated the Sage Colleges in straight sets after falling to nationally-ranked Kean by a 3-0 margin in the opener. Wells evens its overall record at 1-1 while Sage exited play 0-2. The No. 11-ranked Cougars finished the day with a 3-2 record.

Kean dispatched the Express via set scores of 25-20, 25-20 and 25-13 before Wells cruised past the Gators 25-18, 25-18 and 25-19. The Express are now 2-1 all-time against Sage.

In the victory against Sage, Wells was led from eight kills by senior J.J. Podczasy (Macungie, Pa.) and freshman Kody McCracken (Wellsboro, Pa.). Senior Derek Nipps (Turnersville, N.J.) and sophomore Scott Litvin (Sayville, N.Y.) threw up 11 and 10 assists, respectively, while senior John Farruggia (New Hartford, N.Y.) checked in with seven digs to his credit. On the match, Wells hit a convincing .270 after posting 31 kills and only 11 errors on 74 total swings.

Sophomore Brannon Perdicho (Victor, N.Y.) also had a solid game for the Express, hitting a team-high .455 after posting seven kills on 11 attacks, while newcomer Ryan Turner (Liverpool, N.Y.) chipped in with an efficient four kills on six total attacks.

Versus nationally-ranked Kean, Wells saw 12 kills from McCracken in only his first collegiate contest. Nipps led the way with 17 assists while Podczasy and Perdicho each racked up five digs defensively. The Cougars hit an impressive .244 against Wells, outplaying the Express defensively (32 digs to 19 digs).

Wells will take on Vassar and Bard to conclude the SUNY Poly Wildcat Invitational on Saturday, Jan. 23 at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m., respectively.