LATROBE, P.A. – The Medaille College men's volleyball team closed out their regular season on the road with two conference matches. The Mavs beat the Saint Vincent Bearcats in four sets (23-25, 25-20, 25-17, 25-14) before losing in three to the Hiram Terriers (14-25, 15-25,18-25). The Mavs finish the regular season with an overall record of 10-16 and 7-9 conference record.
Game 1
The Mavericks opened up the scoring with early kills from the middle hitters
Tyler Hassell (Angola, NY, Lake Shore) and
Brandon Smith (Lancaster, NY, Lancaster).
Kevin Cashdollar (Clarence, NY, Clarence HS) raked in eight asssts in route to a 15-12 lead by the Mavericks. The Bearcats broke off a six-point scoring streak but kills from
Malachi Jackson (Cheektowaga, NY, Cheektowaga) tied the score at 19.
Matt Dickerson (Lockport, NY, Starpoint) and
George Muriel (Hamburg, NY, Hamburg) picked up kills for a late push but the Bearcats took the first set, 25-23.
Dickerson picked up a service ace as the Mavs jumped out to a 6-2 lead.
Joshua Shiflet Jr. (Mechanicsville, VA, Lee-Davis) took over the primary passing duties which allowed Medaille to run their offense effectively. Cashdollar continued to be an assist machine while adding two service aces to put Medaille ahead 22-15. The Bearcats charged back but Dickerson's two kills closed out the set in favor of Medaille, 25-20.
The Mavericks did well offensively to start the third set. Four Maverick attackers added kills to the stat sheet as Medaille took a 9-4 lead. Hassell and Cashdollar combined for a block on two separate occasions while Smith and Muriel also added blocks of their own. Cashdollar picked up two more aces and Jackson's attacking in the front row sealed a 25-17 Medaille win.
The Mavericks were firing on all cylinders in the fourth set. Jackson added four kills as Medaille grabbed a 13-5 lead. The Bearcats had no answer for the Maverick offense as they continued to fall behind. Muriel would close out the set with the final three kills to give Medaille a 25-14 win.
Jackson led all hitters with a double-double reaching 17 kills (.394) and 12 digs. Muriel had one of his best hitting performances with 11 kills (.476), one block, and nine digs. Dickerson had nine kills, two aces, two blocks, and 11 digs. Cashdollar finished with 46 assists, five aces, and three blocks. Smith had nine kills (.294) and three blocks while Hassell picked up six kills (.625) and four blocks. Shiflet Jr. recorded ten digs.
Game 2
The Terriers put the pressure on early with a 13-6 lead. Dickerson and Jackson found success at the net assisted by Cashdollar. The Mavs gained some momentum from their ability to sideout but missed serves helped Hiram extend their lead. The Terriers took the first set, 25-14.
Hassell and Dickerson combined for a block but the offense for Hiram kept their focus. The Mavericks found themselves down 12-3 which forced a timeout. Dickerson and Jackson were able to score mid-set to reel the Terriers back in, now trailing 8-15. Muriel, Jackson, and Dickerson added kills but the Terrier lead was too much overcome. Hiram took the second set, 25-15.
The third set was a battle as Medaille stayed with Hiram early in the set. The Mavs tied the score at 11 featuring three kills from Jackson and an ace from Muriel. The Terriers found their offensive rhythm again and earned eight of the next ten points. Medaille tried to chip away at their lead but the Terriers held on to win 25-18.
Shiflet Jr. led the Mavs defensively with 12 digs while Dickerson led offensively with 11 kills and one block. Jackson picked up nine kills and four digs. Muriel finished with six kills, one ace, and six digs. Cashdollar had 23 assists and four digs.
