Albany, NY – The Sage Colleges' men's volleyball team hosted the Cougars of Kean University on Wednesday night in a Skyline Conference match. The Cougars posted a 3-0 win (25-17, 25-20, 25-19) to take the contests and a sweep of the Gators in conference play. Kean improves to 10-6 overall and 7-1 in the Skyline, while the loss snaps the Gators' five match win streak and puts them at 13-3 overall and 5-2 in the league.
Kean's senior outside hitter Steve Vahalla (Bloomfield, NJ/Bloomfield) paced the Cougars with his 12 kills and a .455 attack percentage. He had three aces with three digs and three block assists. Sophomore right side Ed Jedziniak (Hillsborough, NJ/Hillsborough) added 12 kills and a .750 hitting percentage while connecting for two block assists. Junior libero Tom Kemmerle (Cinnaminson, NJ/Cinnaminson) had 11 digs, while junior outside Michal Kucza (Kalisz, Poland/n) added nine digs in the action.
Kean combined for a .363 hitting percentage in the match, while holding Sage to a .159 hitting percentage. Kean also committed only two reception errors in the team's 44 receptions for a .957 reception percentage in the contest.
Sage's sophomore outside Andy Fishman (Cornwallville, NY/Cairo-Durham) tallied a team-high 13 kills in the action, while adding two more aces. He now has a team-best and school record 58 aces this season. He had a .476 hitting percentage in the contest with a pair of digs. Sage's senior setter Kyle Ray (Horseheads, NY/Horseheads) added 24 setting assists, while junior outside Dylan Krowicki (Little Falls, NY/Little Falls)had four kills with three digs.
Senior middle hitter Spencer Hilland (Slingerlands, NY/Bethlehem Central) had seven kills with a solo block and a block assist, while connecting on five digs. Junior opposite Scott Fitzgerald (Fort Edwards, NY/Queensbury) had two kills with eight digs and a pair of solo blocks for Sage.
The Gators are back in action on Friday, March 1 travelling to Ramapo College for a 7 p.m. Skyline Conference match. Kean is back in action on Sunday, March 3 at Yeshiva in a tri-match with the host Maccabees and NYU-Poly.
