ORANGEBURG, N.Y. – The D'Youville University Men's Volleyball team moved to 3-0 for the 2024 season after defeating Dominican College in three sets on Friday night.

Set One
The match started even as the Saints and Chargers battled to take the lead. Two Chargers errors and a kill from Shaun Vattakuzhiyil (Sugar Land, TX / Elkins) put the Saints ahead by two, but the Chargers fought back to tie the game. The lead continued to pass back and forth between the teams until back-to-back kills from Vattakuzhiyil put the Saints up 18-14. The Saints held the lead with the Chargers slowly working their way back, until the Chargers put together a four-point run to go up 23-21.

Ethan Robinson (Toronto, Canada) and Tymek Brzoza (Tychy, Poland / NLO Jastrzebski Wegiel) knocked two kills to tie the game at 23. It was a fight to the end of the set for both teams, but a kill from Haven Wankerl (Cross Plains, Wisc. / Middleton) and a service ace from Jacob Malak (Wales, Wisc. / Kettle Moraine) gave the Saints the 28-26 win in set one.

Set Two
The Saints carried their momentum into set two jumping out to a quick 8-4 lead. A kill from Vattakuzhiyil, a Chargers error, and two kills from Malak would later propel the Saints to widen their lead to 13-7. The Chargers fought back to stay in the game, but the Saints continued to apply pressure until they were up 22-16. A service error from the Chargers and back-to-back kills from Vattakuzhiyil and Wankerl gave the Saints the 25-16 win in set two.

Set Three
Again, D'Youville took the early 4-3 lead in the third set, but the Chargers still had some fight in them as they went on a four-point run to take the 7-4 lead. The Saints slowly chipped away to lessen the Charger lead and found themselves in an 11-11 tie after back-to-back kills from Vattakuzhiyil.

The Chargers got one point back, but a four-point run on the Saints put them back in control with the 15-12 lead. From there, both teams went back and forth scoring, but the Saints managed to hold the lead and Haven Wankerl delivered the final kill to give the Saints the 25-21 win and the 3-0 match win.

Saints Stats
It was a strong showing for the Saints. Shaun Vattakuzhiyil led the Saints with 16 kills while Randy Adorno (Bayamon, Puerto Rico / Winter Park (Fla.)) recorded a season-high 40 assists.

The Saints had 49 kills on the night compared to the Chargers 28 and with the win tonight, the Saints not only move to 3-0 for the season but have also won nine consecutive sets.

Up Next
The D'Youville University Men's Volleyball team stays on the road headed to Saint Thomas Aquinas College for a Sunday matchup at 12 PM.