(WILKES-BARRE, Pa.) – The Wilson men's volleyball team won its first match of the season after splitting a tri at King's College on Saturday afternoon. The Phoenix ended the day on a positive note by sweeping Sage 3-0 after falling to the hosting Monarchs 3-0 in the first match.
The Basics
Scores: Match 1 – Wilson 0, King's 3 (25-10, 25-15, 25-11)
Match 2 – Wilson 3, Sage 0 (25-20, 25-19, 25-18)
Venue: Scandlon Gym
Records: Wilson 1-2, King's 10-0, Sage 3-5
How It Happened – Match 1 vs. King's
- Looking to be one of the few teams to take a set from the Monarchs this season, the Phoenix stayed with the hosts in the early going. Kills from Jacob McCoy (Fy., York, Pa. / Spring Grove) and Wyatt Tribett (So., Myersville, Md. / Middletown) along with a King's service error put the score at 7-5 in favor of the Monarchs, but that was as close as Wilson could get in the first set. King's answered with a 5-0 rally and later went on a 9-1 run to take a 1-0 lead.
- The Phoenix had their best game of the opening match in the second as they evenly split the opening 16 points. Xavier Webber (Fy., Mechanicsburg, Pa. / Central Dauphin East) put Wilson up 4-3 early after a kill followed by an ace. Saria Alshaikhali (Jr., Jeddah, Saudi Arabia / Hayfield) then put the Phoenix up 5-4 with a kill. Kills from Demetrius Simmons (Fy., Mechanicsburg, Pa. / Mechanicsburg) and Webber then tied the game at 7's and 8's. However, King's eventually took control with the next six points and nine out of the next 10 en route to a 2-0 lead.
- The third set belonged to the Monarchs from the start as they opened up with a 7-0 run. Wilson eventually went on a 6-1 run for its best rally of the contest with Alshaikhali leading the charge with two kills and an ace, but it was too late as King's took the sweep.
How It Happened – Match 2 vs. Sage
- Both teams appeared evenly matched with Sage up 10-9 at the start, but momentum started to go in favor of the Phoenix as a 9-2 rally put them in control. Webber started the run with a kill to tie the set at 10-all before Simmons added another to give Wilson the lead. After the Gators tied it up on the next point, a service error followed by two more Webber kills put Wilson up for good. Another Webber kill provided the set point and a 1-0 lead.
- Wilson jumped out of the gates fast in the second and it resulted in a 13-4 lead. Webber remained strong with another couple of kills during that time while his serving provided three more points on aces. Sage responded with an 8-0 run to cut the deficit to one, but Wilson remained in front thanks to an error and another Webber kill. The Phoenix proceeded to go on a 6-1 run with a couple of kills from Alshaikhali which helped propel them to a 2-0 lead.
- Another fast start to the third saw Wilson take a 12-4 lead. Kills came from Alshaikhali, Simmons, McCoy, and Webber to help the Phoenix take the lead. The Gators threatened once again, but could only close the gap to four points at 20-16, but Wilson scored the next four points on a pair of Sage errors and kills from Tribett and Alshaikhali before closing out the match three points later.
Inside The Numbers
- Webber finished the day with 18 kills, 11 of which were in the Sage match alone. He added a double-double with 14 digs against the Gators and 21 overall on the day. He finished with eight aces on the serving end, four in each match.
- Simmons got stronger as the day went on as he finished with seven kills and hit .429 in the win against the Gators. He added four aces as well in the win against the Gators.
- Jonathan Minnick (So., Dublin, Va. / New River CC) set up the attack and chalked up 43 assists between the two contests. He recorded 19 assists in the first match and improved upon that with 24 in the second.
Up Next
The Phoenix will close out their stretch of four road contests to open the season as they travel to Chester to take on Widener on Tuesday, February 14. The Valentine's Day match is set to start at 7 p.m.
