Four Sage Men's Volleyball players honored by Empire 8
Hilton, NY–Sage's men's volleyball program had four players saluted with the release of the 2020 Empire 8 Men's Volleyball All-Conference Awards. Sage's senior Shane Wenz (Valatie, NY/Ichabod Crane) was tapped for the First Team, while senior Scott Sanders (Los Angeles, CA/Taft) was named to the Second Team and senior captain Jarod Martel (Albany, NY/Colonie Central) and junior setter Ryan Jennings (North Brunswick, NJ/North Brunswick Township) were both selected for the Honorable Mention Team. Martel was also named to the 2020 Empire 8 Sportsman of the Year Team.
Wenz, who was also honored on Monday with a selection to the 2020 UVC All-Conference Honorable Mention Team, was named to the First Team. A starter in all 22 matches this season, Wenz was named Empire 8 Player of the Week twice as a senior after record-setting performances with Sage single-match record performances. He broke Sage single-match record for kills twice. The first time 27 kills against SUNY-Poly and then broke it again with 30 kills against nationally ranked MIT. He also holds Sage single-match points mark with 33.0 points in the team's UVC match-up with MIT.
Overall in 2020, he led the Gators with 298 kills, 335.3 points, and 148 digs. He also chipped in with 38 total blocks and 12 aces. He added double-digit points in all but three matches in 2020, while adding four matches with double-doubles in kills and digs. He racked up 15 matches as a senior with double-doubles in points and kills.
Wenz ranks nationally in Division III in five different categories including No. 17 in kills per set (3.97) and 21st in points per set (4.47). Wenz is also nationally ranked in attacks per set (33rd, 8.63), digs per set (125th, 1.97), and hitting percentage (72nd, .291).
At Sage, Wenz ranks fifth in career kills (698) and kill attempts (1,538), as well as eighth in aces (54) and ninth in digs (362). He is also third with 211 total blocks, while ranking third in block assists (154), and also third with 57 solo blocks. He is also fifth with his 886.0 points and seventh with 2.96 points per set at Sage having played in 299 sets in 99 career matches as a Gator.
Sanders, started all 22 matches this season for Sage and had a personal-best for digs (48) and aces (23) in 2020. Along the way, he had seven matches in 2020 with double-digit points total, while adding two matches with double-digit kills. He also ranks nationally in three different categories including 56th in hitting, 131st in blocks per set (0.60), and 147th in aces per set (.307). Over the course of his Sage career, he finishes ranked seventh in career kills (495), 10th in kills per set average (2.1), 10th in aces (52) and aces per set average (0.22), while also ranking seventh in career points (644.5). He is also sixth in solo blocks (38), fourth in block assists (119), fourth in total blocks (157), and also fourth in blocks per set average (0.67). Sanders is also ninth in points per set average (2.63) and earned three letters in his career at Sage.
He arrived at Sage in 2017-2018, after serving in the U.S. Army, where he served two tours in Afghanistan. He was a forward observer Sergeant and served six years with the U.S. Army. In his first campaign at Sage, he was honored as the Rookie of the Year by both the UVC and the Empire 8. He was also named to the 2018 UVC Honorable Mention Team, as well as earning a selection to the Empire 8 Second Team. Over the course of the season, he earned Empire 8 and UVC rookie of the week honors six times.
A team captain at Sage in 2020, Martel was a starter in 22 matches this season. He collected a personal-best for most kills (195), points (207.5), digs (95) and kills per set average in 2020 (2.6). Over the course of the season, he had 11 matches with double-digit points total, while adding 10 matches with double-digit kills. He capped his season ranking nationally in Division III in three categories. He was 109th in kills per set (2.6), 117th in attacks per set average (6.79), and 164th in points per set (2.77).
In addition, Martel was named to the Sportsman of the Year Team. The Empire 8 Conference emphasizes that "Competing with Honor and Integrity" is an essential component of a student-athlete's experience in conjunction with an institution's educational mission. These honorees have distinguished themselves and consistently exhibit the critical traits as outstanding sportsmen.
A four-year letterwinner in men's volleyball Martel ranks eighth in career kills (472), ninth in attack attempts (1,222), and ninth in career points with 532.0 points at Sage. He also has 74 career total blocks with 18 aces and finishes seventh in career matches played with 103 appearances.
A junior setter, Jennings added 578 setting assists this year in 22 matches played. He also racked up 16 aces with 77 digs and 39 kills. He capped his junior year moving to the No. 2 spot in Sage's career setting assists list as he now has 1,696. He also second at Sage in career assist percentage with a .470 percentage, while also ranking ninth with 53 career aces and 10th with 691 career service attempts. He finished the 2020 season ranked fifth in the UVC with his 7.71 setting assists per set average and was ranked 52nd in Division III as well.
