Beverly, MA– The Sage Colleges' men's volleyball team wrapped competition on Sunday afternoon at the Endicott College March Mania Tournament. The two-day tournament featured eight teams competing over the course of two-days with four matches each.
On Sunday, the Gators faced the second of two nationally ranked opponents in the tournament as they competed against the No. 13 ranked MIT squad. The Gators held tough, but fell 3-1 to Engineers (24-26, 25-14, 25-18, 25-20). The Gators rallied for a 3-1 win in the nightcap, beating the Blazers of Elms College, 3-1 (19-25, 25-23, 25-14, 25-16). The win in the nightcap broke Sage's single-season victory mark as the Gators collected the squad's 18 win the season. Sage, which is under the direction of interim head coach Sandy Augstein-Collins improves to 18-5 on the year and bettered last season's 17 win campaign.
For the weekend, Sage's sophomore outside Andy Fishman (Cornwallville, NY/ Cairo-Durham) earned a spot in the All-Tournament Team for his outstanding play over the course of the event.
Against MIT, Fishman led the Gators with his 15 kills with four digs. Senior middle hitter Spencer Hilland (Slingerlands, NY/Bethlehem Central) added nine kills with 13 digs, while senior setter Kyle Ray (Horseheads, NY/Horseheads) added 34 setting assists with 12 digs.
Against Elms, Fishman led every player with his 18 kills, while connecting for seven digs and a pair of aces. Hilland added 12 kills with eight digs and four total blocks. Junior middle hitter Connor Thompson (Delmar, NY/Christian Brothers Academy) had eight kills with a team-best seven total blocks. Ray added 42 setting assists with two digs. Senior middle hitter Ryan Kramer (Delmar, NY/Bethlehem Central) added eight kills with five block assists to help the Gators combine for a .287 hitting percentage in the match.
The Gators will not be in action again until March 27 when they travel to SUNY-It for a 7 p.m. non-conference road match.
