CRESSON, P.A. – The Medaille college men's volleyball team split in their Saturday doubleheader against Mount Aloysius College and Hiram College. The Mavs beat the Mounties in three (25-14, 25-15, 25-10) before surrendering a four-set lost to the Terriers (25-19, 20-25, 25-27, 23-25)

Game 1

The first set began with both teams trading points due to offensive mistakes. Brandon Smith (Lancaster, NY, Lancaster) continued setting duties and connected with Tyler Hassell (Angola, NY, Lake Shore) and Malachi Jackson (Cheektowaga, NY, Cheektowaga) on back-to-back kills. Gay Doh Htoo (Rochester, NY, World of Inquiry High School) recorded two aces before the Mounties charged back to take a 13-12 lead over the Mavs. With Joshua Shiflet Jr. (Mechanicsville, VA, Lee-Davis) at the service line, the Mavericks would go on to score ten straight points featuring multiple kills from George Muriel (Hamburg, NY, Hamburg) and Jackson. The Mavs would close out the set with a 25-14 win.

Muriel recorded the first three out of four points for Medaille to kick off the second set. The Mounties continued to hang with the Mavericks, but their hitting errors kept them from taking a lead. Matt Dickerson (Lockport, NY, Starpoint) added two aces and a kill while Jackson scored three straight kills to lift the Mavs to 25-15 set win.

The Mavs got out to another big lead in the third set. Smith kept the offense rolling as Medaille recorded 14 team kills on 23 total swings in the set. Their .478 hitting percentage was the highest in the match as the Mounties trailed 22-8. Tim Spengler (Williamsville, NY, Sweet Home) got in on the action with a kill while Jackson closed out the set, 25-10.

Jackson led the Mavs with a double-double recording 16 kills (.379) and ten digs. Muriel reached ten kills (.368) with two aces and four digs. Smith had 31 assists while Dickerson had a team-high 12 digs, two blocks, and two aces. Gay Doh had four aces in the match while Shiflet Jr. put up three aces and nine digs.

Game 2

Shiflet Jr. and Muriel both grabbed service aces early in the first set. Both teams traded points until Muriel's kill sparked a six-point scoring run from the Mavs. A kill from Jackson had the Mavs up 17-10 before the Terriers went on a five-point scoring run. Hassell's kill ended their run while Muriel and Jackson each added two kills late in the set to take the 25-19 win.

In the second set, the Mavs jumped out to an 8-4 lead featuring kills from Jackson, Hassell, and Smith. The Terriers charged back to close the gap. With Medaille leading 14-13, the Terriers went on another scoring run to lead 19-14. The Mavs stayed in the game but could not reel the Terriers back in. Hiram took the second set, 25-20.

The third set started with another Maverick lead. The set was close featuring multiple lead changes. Dickerson added back-to-back kills in the middle of the set while Jackson led a five-point scoring run to put the Mavs ahead 22-21. From there, the lead would change three times until both teams tied at 25. Two Maverick hitting errors helped the Terriers edge out a 27-25 win.

Hassell earned the first kill of the fourth set for the Mavs as Medaille was in for another close battle. Muriel grabbed a pair of kills while Smith put up a solo block. The Hiram offense heated up earning seven of the next eight points for a 21-17 lead. Dickerson scored from the service line before a couple Maverick errors put the Terriers ahead 24-20. The Mavs battled hard, winning the next three points including a double block from Smith and Muriel. The comeback fell short as Hiram scored the next point and won 25-23.

Jackson led offensively with 16 kills (.128) with two blocks and seven digs. Dickerson followed closely behind with 11 kills (.188), two aces, and seven digs. Murel was very effective at the net with nine kills on 18 swings with no errors (.500). Muriel also added three blocks while Smith posted 33 assists with five blocks and eight digs. Shiflet Jr. led defensively with 14 digs and Hassell recorded seven kills with four blocks.

The Mavs will travel to Penn State Behrend on Wednesday, March 2 for a 7:00 p.m. game.