HAMBURG, N.Y.  –  Hilbert College Men's Volleyball hosted their first trimatch this afternoon when Thiel College and SUNY Poly made an appearance in the Hafner Recreation Center.
 
Hilbert split the day with an opening loss to Thiel who went 2-0, before the Hawks outlasted SUNY Poly in the decisive 5^th set of the night cap.
 
Nikolas D'Andrea led the Hawks with 20 kills through eight sets (2.50) and added six total blocks while Justin Veal dominated the net recording 10 total blocks along with a team-best four service aces.  George Muriel was credited with 52 assists (6.5 aps) and matched Mehkai Francis with two solo blocks each.
 
THE BASICS

• 3:00 pm Final Score:    Thiel 25, 25, 25   | Hilbert 13, 23, 22
• 5:00 pm Final Score:    Thiel 28, 25, 25   | SUNY Poly 26, 13, 21
• 7:00 pm Final Score:    Hilbert 25, 25, 17, 14, 15 SUNY Poly 23, 19, 25, 25, 12
• Location:  Hafner Recreation Center, Hilbert College
• Records:   Hilbert 5-5 | Thiel 7-5 | SUNY Poly 8-7 

NEWS and NOTES
 
3 pm vs Thiel Tomcats 

• Hilbert finished the three-set match recording 33 points off 22 kills (17 errors) and a .061 attack percentage while the Tomcats collected 40 kills (17 errors) with a .219 attack performance
• The Hawks recorded five blocks, six service aces, 21 assists and 36 digs.
• Brad Converse and Nikolas D'Andrea recorded nine kills each while D'Andrea was credited with seven digs and three service aces.
• Jacob Sehn and George Muriel were one dig away from double digit as they each garnered nine and Muriel finished with 20 assists. 

7 pm vs SUNY Poly Wildcats
 
The Hawks built a 2-0 lead on the Wildcats but lost momentum at the end of the second set when Converse left the game with cramps.  SUNY Poly took sets three and four which forced the fifth and deciding set.  Hilbert held an 8-6 advantage at the bench switching shift and D'Andrea recorded three of Hilbert's final points in the match off big swings. 

•  Hilbert finished the five-set match recording 63 points off 46 kills (23 errors) and a .187 attack percentage while the Wildcats earned 66 points off 48 kills (25 errors) with a .181 attack performance
• The Hawks recorded 10 blocks, seven service aces, 40 assists and 45 digs as SUNY Poly finished with 14 service aces and four blocks.
• Nikolas D'Andrea recorded 11 kills and three block assists while Justin Veal tacked on nine kills and six block assists.
• Mehkai Francis had great timing at the net finishing with two solo blocks and six kills and Converse finished with seven kills in just under two full sets played.
• Jacob Sehn ended up with 14 digs and Georger Muriel shifted to a hitting late in the game finishing with seven kills, 32 assists seven digs and three total blocks. 

UP NEXT

The Hawks are set to square off against Houghton University in another non-conference match Tuesday, February 18th before they hit the road next week when they travel to Utica, NY for their second consecutive trimatch, this time hosted by SUNY Poly.  Hilbert will face Poly at 3pm Friday, February 21 and SUNY Potsdam at 5pm.