HAMBURG, N.Y.  – The Hilbert College men's volleyball team suffered their second consecutive 5-set defeat this week when they hosted cross-town rival Medaille College in another AMCC series.
 
Hilbert College's SAAC organized an Anniversary Party for the AMCC as the league celebrates its Silver Anniversary of competition this year and the Hawks and Mavs shared a moment in the stands with all the fans prior to the start of the contest.

 
 THE BASICS

• Match Scores: Medaille 25, 21, 25, 18, 15  I  Hilbert 21, 25, 18, 25, 13
• Location:  Hafner Recreation Center, Hamburg, NY
• Records:  Mavericks  4-9, 1-2 AMCC |  Hawks 1-11, 0-4 AMCC

HIGHLIGHTS ON THE DAY 

• Brad Converse and Ryan Levcik combined for 22 of Hilbert's 45 team kills, with Converse posting 12 kills and 10 digs; Levcik earned game-high honors with four service aces.
• Marcus Wloch (5), Levcik (4) and Dylan Suter (3) were very active defensively earning block assists while Austin Chandler, when not setting up kills (34 assists), led the Hawks with 10 digs.   

HOW IT HAPPENED  

• All five sets were close entire time.  The first two sets were won by the identical scores (25-21) as were the third and fourth (25-18) before the Mavs claimed the two-point 5th set win (15-13).
• In the opening set, Medaille built an early 4-2 lead, but the Hawks flipped the score in their favor three serves later. Hilbert maintained the lead until the Mavs went on a four-point swing going up 12-11.  Medaille stretched it to a 17-14 game but the Hawks battled back within one point (17-16).  Medaille created enough space (21-16) to win the first set 25-21.
• After Medaille snuck ahead (4-3) in the second set, the Hawks regrouped and built a 7-4 advantage and never relinquished the lead again.  The Hawks earned 11 kills and seven points from the service line - four service aces they earned and three given to them by Medaille in the second set.  Hilbert won the set 25-21.
• Medaille took the lead early in the game and never trailed in the middle set.  The Hawks made it a one-point game four times (2-1, 7-6, 8-6, 12-11) but had too much ground to cover late in the game, as they dropped a 25-18 loss.
• The fourth set was a back-and-forth affair early as both teams played through three different lead changes.  When the Hawks built a 13-8 lead, Medaille called a timeout.  The Mavs pulled within two points (13-11) only to witness Hilbert stringing together four points for the 17-12 margin.  The Hawks, leading 22-17, earned two of their final four points off kills.
• Medaille built a 7-1 score in the fifth set before Hilbert rallied and cut it to two (7-5).  The Mavs posted three more points, taking a 10-6 lead and slowly crawled to the 15-13 win.  Hilbert got as close as 14-13 thanks to a pair of Medaille attack errors, but they won the match on a service ace. 

GAME NOTES 

• Hilbert earned 55 points, 45 kills (.102), five service aces, five blocks, 41 assists and 49 digs.
• Medaille earned 58.5 points, 41 kills (.125), nine service aces, eight blocks, 38 assists and 39 digs. 

UP NEXT

Hilbert hits the road this weekend for another AMCC tri-match, this time at Penn State Altoona.  The Hawks will face the Lions at 12 noon, then battle against Thiel College at 2:30 pm before returning to WNY.