Franklin, MA- The Dean College men's volleyball team ended on the wrong side of their Saturday tri-match contests, losing to both Russell Sage College and Purchase College 0-3. Dean now moves to 2-10 (0-1) on the season.

Match 1 – Russell Sage College 3, Dean 0 (25-23, 25-20, 25-14)

The Bulldogs kept the first match close, but ultimately fell to the Gators in three sets. 

The first set saw Dean nearly win, only falling short by two points. For most of the first set, Dean kept the Gator lead to three. Senior Nunu Coward-Jackson (Fresno, CA) contributed at the front lines, providing multiple kills and blocks for Dean. Meanwhile, Hayson Shing (Hong Kong) checked into the match early and mastered the back court. Shing was able to play strong defense and keep the Bulldogs in the first set. 

While Dean did lose the first match, there were plenty of bright spots that shined in the three sets. Both Noah Allan (Windham, NH) and Ayden Rogers (Tewksbury, MA) finished the first match with five kills each. Meanwhile, Hunter Armitage (Westerly, RI) finished with 13 total assists. Mason Rua (Sao Paulo Du Sol, Portugal) recorded fourteen digs in the match, officially eclipsing 100 digs in his freshman campaign. 

Match 2 – Purchase College 3, Dean 0 (25-14, 25-13, 28-26)

Match two saw Dean get off to a slower start, but after an extremely close third set, they fell to Purchase by the same score of 0-3.

The third set saw Purchase get off to a 4-0 lead early. However, Dean quickly fought back and kept the match close. Rayan Echehl (Revere, MA) played a vital role at the service line, scoring multiple aces to add to Dean's scoring. Meanwhile, both Allan and Arthur Felicio (Saugus, Brazil) posted kills at the net, keeping Purchase humble. Dean took Purchase to a win-by-two scenario after Allan Echehl were able to score kills. However, after a tough error on offense, deep fell to the Panthers 28-26 and 0-3 in the match.

Felicio led the way for Dean with six kills and two digs. Meanwhile, Armitage posted 18 total assists in the match. Rua once again led Dean in digs with eight, while Casey Dubois (Dracut, MA) closely followed with six. 

Dean is back in action on Thursday night at 7:00PM, hosting Emmanuel College in their second Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) match of the year.