BUFFALO, N.Y. – The Medaille College men's volleyball team came out on top in their home opener against Wells College. The Mavs won in four sets (25-19, 25-15, 14-25, 25-16) and move to 3-7 on the season.

The Mavericks set the tone early with an ace from setter Kevin Cashdollar (Clarence, NY, Clarence HS). The Express capitalized on a few Medaille errors but two kills from Matt Dickerson (Lockport, NY, Starpoint), and an ace from George Muriel (Hamburg, NY, Hamburg) kept them in check. Dickerson added back-to-back aces to get Medaille the lead back. Brandon Smith (Lancaster, NY, Lancaster) kept the Mavs rolling with a kill and two aces in a row. Dickerson and Malachi Jackson (Cheektowaga, NY, Cheektowaga) continued to be strong at the net as the Mavs took a 24-18 lead. Tyler Hassell (Angola, NY, Lake Shore) scored the final point to give the Mavs a 25-19 first set win.

In the second set, the Mavs were led by Dickerson, Jackson, and Smith as Medaille grabbed a 7-2 lead. Cashdollar ran the offense well as the Express had no answers for the Maverick hitters. The Mavs were able to string together multiple points to stay ahead. Jackson added a kill with the Mavs leading 20-12, and Dickerson later closed out the set with a kill and a 25-15 set win.

The Express came out firing in the third set as the game became more intense. Dickerson and Smith were able to score but the Express found their rhythm on offense taking a 10-4 lead. The Mavericks managed to climb back to get within four points, but the Express took advantage of three Medaille errors and added a kill. Jackson tried to bring some life back to the Mavericks with a kill and service ace before the Express scored six points in a row. Their lead was too much for the Mavs to overcome as Medaille dropped the third set, 14-25.

In the fourth set, the Mavericks continued to make hitting mistakes early to help get the Express to a 6-2 lead. The Mavs battled back with four straight points, two coming off of the arm of Jackson and a block from Smith. Dickerson and Muriel added multiple kills to keep the Mavs rolling, all coming from setter Cashdollar. The Mavs trailed 14-15 before breaking off six straight points as Gay Doh Htoo (Rochester, NY, World of Inquiry High School) added consistent serving. With the Mavs now leading 20-16, Dickerson shut the Express down with a monster kill and service ace. Jackson beat out the Express hitter on a play at the net to take the set win, 25-16.

Dickerson led the hitters with 18 kills on 36 attempts with nine errors (.250) while also having two blocks, three aces, and six digs. Jackson recorded 16 kills on 31 swings with five errors (.357) while adding two blocks, two aces, and nine digs. Cashdollar had a strong performance for the Mavericks with 38 assists, two aces, a block, and four digs. Smith recorded the best hitting percentage of .357 adding seven kills on 14 swings with two aces and three blocks. Muriel led the team in digs with 12 followed by Joshua Shiflet Jr. (Mechanicsville, VA, Lee-Davis) with 11.

The Mavericks head to Beaver Falls P.A. on Saturday, February 19 where they play Geneva at 2:00 p.m. and Penn State Altoona at 4:30 p.m.