Albany, NY— The Sage Gators hosted the Raptors of Bard College in Wednesday night in a United Volleyball Conference match in Kahl Gym. Sage posted the 3-0 victory, besting he Raptors, 25-7, 25-15, 25-16 and now stand at 6-8 overall and 1-2 in the UVC. Bard falls to 1-10 overall and 0-6 in the UVC.
Sage was led by the play of senior co-captain Zackery Karl (West Monroe, NY/Central Square) as he racked up a match-high 20 points on 11 kills with a personal-best 8 aces. He added two digs with a pair of block assists. His 8 aces is second all-time for single-match records only behind a 9 ace effort twice by Andy Fishman in 2013.
Gator co-captain Mike Basile (Feeding Hills, MA/Agawam), a sophomore outside hitter added seven kills with a .500 attack percentage to go with his 8.0 points.
Juniors Scott Sanders (Los Angeles, CA/Taft) and Jarod Martel (Albany, NY/Colonie Central) both added four kills each, while Sanders tallied two aces with two digs and Martel finished with 1 solo block.
Rookie Deshawn Fleary (Newark, NJ/Immaculate Conception Montclair) posted three kills as well with two aces, two digs and three block assists.
Sage's junior outside hitter Shane Wenz (Valatie, NY/Ichabod Crane) contributed with one kill and three digs with a block assist while rookie Ryan Alderdice (Valatie, NY/Chatham) sophomore setter Ryan Jennings (North Brunswick, NJ/North Brunswick Township) both had two kills. Alderice was a perfect 10-0 with no errors in 10 attempts and had two digs, while Jennings finished with 28 setting assists, four aces and a dig.
Sage combined for 20 aces which stands second in single-game team records behind a 21 ace effort in 2018 against Southern Vermont. Sage had a combined .328 attack percentage, while holding Bard to a -0.040 attack percentage.
Bard's senior Jelani Bell-Isaac (Lake Peekskill, NY/Putnam Valley) added five kills with a dig and 5.0 points for the Raptors. Sophomore setter Nic Smith (Los Angeles, CA/Harvard-Westlake) added a kill with 8 setting assists and an ace.
Sage is back in action on Saturday, March 2 hosting New York University in a 2 p.m. UVC Match in Kahl Gym. Bard returns to action on Friday, March 1 hosting St. John Fisher College in a 5 p.m. UVC contest.