BEAVER FALLS, P.A. – The Medaille College men's volleyball team opened conference play on Saturday evening with a double header. The Mavs fell in four sets to Geneva College (27-25, 17-25, 22-25, 23-25) and Penn State Altoona (23-25, 25-20, 15-25, 20-25) in a Saturday double header.
Game 1
In the first match against Geneva, setter
Kevin Cashdollar (Clarence, NY, Clarence HS) connected with multiple Maverick attackers early to establish the offense. The Mavs put up a hitting percentage of .241 compared to Geneva's .065 in the first set. Back-to-back service aces and a kill from Cashdollar put the Mavs ahead by five. An ace from
Brandon Smith (Lancaster, NY, Lancaster) put Medaille ahead 25-24 before an attack error tied the score at 25.
Tyler Hassell (Angola, NY, Lake Shore) came up big for the Mavs with two kills to close the first set winning 27-25.
In the second set,
Matt Dickerson (Lockport, NY, Starpoint) and
Malachi Jackson (Cheektowaga, NY, Cheektowaga) kept the Mavs rolling at the net. The Golden Tornadoes cleaned up their mistakes from the first set to pull ahead 20-13. Dickerson, Jackson, and
George Muriel (Hamburg, NY, Hamburg) added late kills, but Geneva took the set, 25-17.
The Mavericks continued to fight in the third set despite Geneva jumping out to a 10-5 lead. The offense clicked in the middle of the set as Medaille charged right back, now leading 21-20. The Golden Tornadoes capitalized on a few Maverick errors to take a 25-22 set win.
The middles continued to find success in the fourth set as Cashdollar added another ace to his total on the day. Jackson and Dickerson hit well as the Mavs made one final push trailing 21-24. Medaille won two long rallies but fell short losing 23-25.
Jackson led the offense with 16 kills and nine digs followed closely by Dickerson with 15 kills and two blocks. Cashdollar put up 39 assists, a team-high six aces, and nine digs. Hassell was efficient hitting .600 with six kills on ten swings while Smith added four kills (.500), three aces, and two blocks. Muriel led defensively with 14 digs followed by
Joshua Shiflet Jr. (Mechanicsville, VA, Lee-Davis) with 13 digs.
Game 2
The Mavs returned to action in their second match of the day against Penn State Altoona. The Lions jumped out to a 21-12 lead in the first set. Jackson's three aces and kill from the back row brought Medaille back in the game. A late ace from Cashdollar got the Mavs within striking distance but Altoona closed the set out 25-23.
In the second set, the Mavs exploded at the net with 16 kills on 29 swings with only two errors. Their team hitting percentage of .483 kept the Lions from gaining any momentum. Jackson led the way with seven kills to give Medaille the 25-20 set win.
The Maverick offense slowed down in the third set as the Lions responded from both the service line and at the net. The Mavs made it a game as they only trailed 13-15. Altoona took all the momentum winning seven in a row and closed the set with a 25-15 win.
In the fourth set, the Mavs found themselves down but not out. Jackson, Dickerson, and Muriel brought Medaille back in the game. Smith and Muriel came up big with blocks with the Mavs down by three. Dickerson joined the block party and an ace from Jackson brought Medaille within two late in the set. Altoona strung together enough points to keep the Mavs at bay, winning 25-20.
Jackson led the offense with 18 kills (.225) and a team-high five aces. Dickerson recorded 14 kills (.200) and added seven digs. Cashdollar recorded 28 assists and six digs while Muriel added seven kills (.316), four blocks, and six digs. Shiflet Jr. led defensively with ten digs.
The Mavs will travel to Hilbert College on Wednesday, February 23 at 7:00 p.m.
