Union, N.J. (2/17/13) – The Kean University men's volleyball team picked up two wins in Skyline Conference play on Sunday afternoon, including a five set thriller against The Sage Colleges.

The Cougars picked up the five set win (22-25, 26-24, 25-18, 19-25, 15-10) in the opener, giving the Gators their first Skyline loss of the season (8-2, 3-1 Skyline).  Kean then earned a straight set win over Purchase (25-10, 25-18, 25-6) in the nightcap to earn the season sweep of the Panthers (1-7, 1-5 Skyline).

Sage earned the first point of set one and didn't look back, holding the lead throughout.  The Gators led by as many as seven but Kean rallied to within one on two occasions late in the set.  Back-to-back kills from senior Steve Vahalla (pictured left) narrowed the gap to 22-21 and after a kill from sophomore Andy Fishman a kill from rookie Tommy Rosario again put Kean within one (23-22).  Sage was able to close out the set with two straight points off a kill from junior Dylan Krowicki and an attack error by the Cougars.

Kean held the advantage for much of the second set, but a string of seven straight points from the Gators with senior Spencer Hilland serving gave Sage life.  Trailing 23-17, the Gators would tie and take the lead in the run (24-23).  Back-to-back attack errors gave Kean the advantage and the Cougars closed out the second set with a kill from sophomore Kyle Farley to tie the match up.

After a close see-saw battle early in the third set, Kean broke a 5-5 tie and took the lead for good.  The Cougars would extend their lead to as many as nine (19-10) off blocks from sophomores Ed Jedziniak and Mike Scheuermann. 

Sage was not finished and turned an 11-11 deadlock into an 18-11 lead in the fourth set.  With Fisherman serving, the Gators used two service aces and three consecutive blocks to pull ahead.  In the final set of the first matchup, the Cougars tallied the first point on a kill from Scheuermann and never trailed, earning the five set win.

Vahalla led all players with a double-double 23 kills and 10 digs while Farley recorded nine kills along with six total blocks.  Krowicki paced the Gators with nine kills and six digs.  Hilland finished with six kills and five blocks in the opener.

In the nightcap, Kean cruised to a straight set win over Purchase.  Rookie Krzysztof Kucza led all players with nine kills as 12 Cougars saw action in the match.  Sophomore Alex Barnhard collected 13 assists while sophomore Ron Dunn tallied 14.

The Cougars head to the road for the majority of the next month.  Their first matchup will feature the College of Mt. St. Vincent on Tuesday at 7 p.m.