Beverly, Mass. (3/9/13) – The Kean University men's volleyball team split in day one of the Endicott March Mania Tournament as they fell to Emmanuel College, 3-1 and rallied to edge host Endicott, 3-2.

Match 1

The Cougars were led by senior Steve Vahalla who collected 11 kills with three blocks.  Sophomore Ed Jedziniak recorded eight kills and three blocks while teammate Kyle Farley added nine kills and eight total blocks in the first matchup of the day.  Sophomore John Cunningham added eight kills and 12 digs as the Cougars recorded 16 team blocks in the loss.

Match 2

Endicott saw their seven-match win-streak come to an end as Kean pushed past the host in five sets.

The Cougars rallied behind a match-high 18 kills from senior outside Steve Vahalla who totaled a .325 attack percentage on 40 swings.  Fellow outside John Cunningham was not far behind with 17 kills as the duo helped sophomore setter Ron Dunn amass 53 assists.

Dunn also added 12 digs and six kills without an error to lead Kean.  The Cougars also got strong defense from defensive specialists Michael Fox and Michal Kucza who had 16 and 13 digs, respectively.  At the net, sophomore middle Kyle Farley led the team with six assisted blocks.

Kean improves to 13-7 overall and will face off in Day 2 of the tournament on Sunday.