February 22, 2024
It’s been a rough start for North Park with just 3 wins in 13 contests. However. they played NCC tough tonight, taking the second set from the Cardinals and playing the third and fourth sets close. Jared Moser and Mitch Hester were dominant on the attack for North Central and Tyler Donovan was solid as always with 43 assists, 2 aces, 4 kills, 5 digs, and 2 blocks. 42 digs were not enough for North Park to slow the NCC attack. Kaleb Patrick lifted 12 of those 42 digs. The Cards are starting to roll notching their 8th straight win, 9-2 overall record, and a win in their first CCIW match tonight.
Tim Flanagan notched 18 kills to lead Stevenson past Randolph Macon at Owings Mills. Stevenson had a strong start in set one cruising to a 25-19 win but Randolph Macon adjusted and pushed hard in sets 2 and 3 but succumbed 26-24 and 25-22. Another nice performance by Justin Novoa who put up 35 assists. Anthony Pezzino and Ryan Thenell each added 7 kills for the Mustangs. Bryce Matthews led the Yellow Jacket attack with 12 kills and a .381 hitting percentage.
After a 9-0 start to the season, King’s College has dropped 2 of their last 4, with both lost matches conference games in the MAC. Eastern had 4 players with double-digit kills to lead their offensive charge tonight. Symir Byrd, Rodney Quarles, Lucas Adams, and Max Bagileo were exceptional on the attack while Chris Miller and Josh Hrabosky combined for 59 assists.
Benedictine has slipped out of the IH Top 30 this week but bounced back after losing 5 of their last 6 with a 5-set win over Illinois Tech. This was the first of their NACC conference schedule for both teams. Benedictine left no doubt in set 5 and crushed IIT 15-6. Spencer VanEngen had 50 assists, 5 blocks, and 11 digs while freshman Anthony Dobie tallied 17 kills, a career high. Jordan Cardenas ruled the back row with 17 digs for the match.
For SUNY New Paltz, when in doubt, go to Pat Wing, has been a solid strategy in 2023 and 2024 thus far. Wing rose to the occasion tonight against Arcadia in a 5-set thriller that saw the Hawks edge the Knights in a reverse sweep. On 51 attacks, Wing scorched 26 kills, hitting .431 with 7 digs and 3 blocks. Arcadia out-aced New Paltz 14-3 but could not take advantage of this difference in the overall match. The Knights also outscored the Hawks on the night but the Hawks were the first to three set wins.
Idris Idris had 40 assists and Wilton Martinez jammed 19 kills with 6 aces to lead Manhattanville over Brooklyn College in 5 sets. The Valiants benefited from strong defensive play from Nash Torres (19 digs), Emil Morban Medrano (15 digs) and Martinez (11 digs). Jacob Fletcher had 4 blocks and 5 kills for the winners.
Roanoke continued its turnaround season improving to 8-6 with a 4-set win over Virginia Wesleyan. Michael Cummins and Jackson Rutkowski were outstanding on the offensive attack collecting 15 kills and 12 kills respectively. Dom Wheaton hit .500 with 8 kills and no errors for the Maroons.
Logan Ramos had 9 kills and hit .615 as John Jay improved to 7-2 with a straight set win over Yeshiva. Alex Bridgelall and Jefferson Avila combined for 9 aces for the Bloodhounds. The CUNY schedule ramps up next weekend for John Jay with conference matches against Brooklyn College and Hunter.
Widener rolled over Immaculata in straight sets to improve to 8-4. Matt Christ was outstanding once again for the Pride tallying 11 kills, just one attack error, .476 hit percentage, and blasting 5 aces. Mike Martino hit .471 and had 9 kills and Josh Matchett had 32 assists and 4 aces for the winners.
Accolades
Congrats to Will Gehrke of Edgewood for surpassing 1,000 career assists this week. Will is just a sophomore and has played in just 37 matches thus far. Expecting big things in the future from #8.
Michael Yurk of Wittenburg smashed the school record for kills in an individual match with 26 against Wabash. The 6’4″ sophomore continues to be an impressive force on the Tiger’s left side.
Drew’s Jacob Sledz joined the 100 career aces club this past week against Pratt. It’s the first time this has been achieved in school history. Jacob’s strong vertical and powerful left arm has solidified his presence in the Ranger lineup.
Inside Hitter Player of the Night
Tonight’s honors go to Manhattanville freshman Nash Torres with his valiant effort on defense tonight against rival Brooklyn College. The 5′ 11″ libero from Bayamon, Puerto Rico is making his presence known for the Valiants. Awesome job #4.
