BUFFALO, N.Y. – The Medaille College men's volleyball team took on AMCC foe Penn State Behrend Wednesday night on Senior Day. The Mavericks honored Matt Dickerson (Lockport, NY, Starpoint), Brandon Smith (Lancaster, NY, Lancaster), and Tim Spengler (Williamsville, NY, Sweet Home) on their careers as Medaille volleyball players. The Mavs lost in three sets (22-25, 20-25, 15-25) to the Lions who are currently ranked the top team in the conference.

The Mavericks took the early points in the first set from a missed serve and kills from Dickerson and Malachi Jackson (Cheektowaga, NY, Cheektowaga). The Lions broke off a few small scoring streaks led by their middle hitters to take a 9-5 lead. Kevin Cashdollar (Clarence, NY, Clarence HS) got the Mavericks rolling offensively putting Medaille up 11-10. Gay Doh Htoo (Rochester, NY, World of Inquiry High School) sniped the line on his serve for an ace as the Mavericks played point-for-point with the Lions. Behrend held a small lead in the race to 25, and despite a strong effort by the Mavs, the Lions took the set 25-22.

Smith grabbed the first two points for Medaille but the Lions jumped out to an 8-4 lead. Cashdollar brought the pressure from the service line with back-to-back aces while kills from Jackson and George Muriel (Hamburg, NY, Hamburg) tied the score at nine. The Lions ran away with five straight points to force a timeout. Tyler Hassell (Angola, NY, Lake Shore) and Dickerson combined on a block before Dickerson tallied two more solo blocks in a row. The Mavs remained within a few points of Behrend with Joshua Shiflet Jr. (Mechanicsville, VA, Lee-Davis) leading defensively. Shiflet Jr. picked up multiple digs as the Mavs trailed 19-21. The Lions would go on to win the next four out of five points to take the set, 25-20.

Hassell, Smith, Dickerson, and Jackson all earned kills early in the third set. Smith aced the Lions to give Medaille a 6-4 lead. The Lions bounced back in a big way winning ten of the next 12 points and taking all of the momentum. The Mavs added a triple block and a solo block from Muriel, but the Lions were playing their best volleyball, extending their lead 23-11. Dickerson and Smith added kills and Cashdollar put up another ace late in the set, but Behrend finished out the set winning 25-15.

Smith was the most efficient hitter with a .429 hitting percentage adding seven kills and an ace. Jackson recorded ten kills and five digs while Dickerson came away with nine kills, four blocks, and seven digs. Cashdollar had a team-high three aces and 24 assists with seven digs. Shiflet Jr. led the team with 13 total digs.

The Mavs will hit the road for two more conference games on Saturday, April 2. Medaille will play Saint Vincent at 12:00 P.M. and Hiram at 2:30 P.M. in Latrobe, P.A.