GREENVILLE, P.A. – The Medaille College men's volleyball team faced Penn State Altoona and Thiel College for their conference matches on Saturday. The Mavs lost in four sets to Altoona (14-25, 27-25, 20-25, 20-25) before losing in four to Thiel (28-30, 25-22, 18-25, 21-25).
Game 1
The Mavericks found themselves down early in the first set due to efficient hitting from the Lions. Setter
Kevin Cashdollar (Clarence, NY, Clarence HS) connected with
Brandon Smith (Lancaster, NY, Lancaster) for the first point of the set. Cashdollar also connected with
Malachi Jackson (Cheektowaga, NY, Cheektowaga) for a pair of kills, but the Lions were carving out long scoring runs to extend their lead. Jackson added an ace and
Matt Dickerson (Lockport, NY, Starpoint) grabbed two kills late in the set before surrendering a 14-25 set loss.
The second set started better for the Mavs as Jackson and
George Muriel (Hamburg, NY, Hamburg) scored at the net. The Mavs held their own staying within range of Altoona. Despite being down 12-18, Medaille went on a scoring run with two service aces from Muriel combined with multiple errors from Altoona. With the score tied at 20, the Mavs traded points with kills from Jackson and an ace from Cashdollar. Muriel came up big at the end of the set with a kill and service ace to give Medaille the 27-25 set win.
In the third set, the Mavs jumped out to a 5-3 lead before attack errors put them down 5-7. Dickerson cranked three straight kills to give the Mavs back the lead. The Mavs lost their lead again as Altoona started heating up. The blocking for Medaille and four late kills from Jackson brought the Mavs within four. The Lions ended the surging Mavs with a kill to take the third set, 25-20.
The strong blocking continued for the Mavs going into the fourth set. The score was tied at seven before Altoona scored nine straight points. The Mavs were never out of the fight as every attacker found success at the net. The Mavs got the score within four again (19-23), but could not string together the points they needed, losing 20-25.
The Mavs were led by Jackson with 17 kills, three blocks, and eight digs. Dickerson recorded 10 kills, two blocks, and six digs. Cashdollar had 34 assists with two aces, three blocks, and five digs. Smith finished with five kills and four blocks while Muriel also grabbed five kills, three blocks, and three aces.
Joshua Shiflet Jr. (Mechanicsville, VA, Lee-Davis) led defensively with 11 digs.
Game 2
Cashdollar grabbed the opening kill of the game as Medaille was in for another close battle, this time with Thiel College. The Mavs tied the score at ten highlighted by an ace from Dickerson and a kill from Jackson. The Wildcats would get up to a 16-12 lead but blocks by
Tim Spengler (Williamsville, NY, Sweet Home) and Dickerson rallied the Mavs back into the game. Thiel remained out front leading 24-21 but the Mavs charged back again off of the arms of Dickerson and Jackson. The Mavs battled defensively but the Wildcats made the final plays when they needed it to take the 30-28 win.
Jackson continued to hit well for the Mavs to kick off the second set. Cashdollar kept the offense moving but errors helped the Wildcats to a 10-4 lead. After a Medaille timeout, the Mavericks bounced back fast tying the game at 13. A Thiel attack error gave Medaille their first lead of the game and forced the Wildcats into a timeout. Both teams went on scoring runs to tie the score at 21. Attack errors from Thiel and a kill from Dickerson sealed a 25-22 win for Medaille.
Thiel started the third set with strong serving to take an early lead. Jackson, Dickerson, and Smith found success at the net with Jackson earning three straight kills in the middle of the set. The Wildcats held a seven-point lead all the way to the end of the set, winning 25-18.
Thiel had all the momentum to start the fourth set. The Mavs fell behind 20-9 before generating some progress on both sides of the ball. Spengler and Muriel combined on a block while Jackson and Dickerson added kills. Cashdollar also had a kill and Muriel scored from the service line. The momentum shifted to heavily favor Medaille as every part of their game started to click. The Mavs forced Thiel into a timeout and continued to score as the errors for the Wildcats began to pile up. Despite the major response from Medaille, the Mavs' comeback fell short as they dropped the final set, 21-25.
Jackson had a monster performance at the net with 21 kills and nine digs. Dickerson added 10 kills, one ace, two blocks, and eight digs. Cashdollar recorded 32 assists, with three blocks and eight digs. Muriel added one ace, four blocks, and seven digs with Smith also recording four blocks. Shiflet Jr. led in digs with 12 in the four-set loss.
The Mavs will return to play at home against Hilbert College on Wednesday, March 23 at 7:00 P.M.
