WILKES-BARRE, Pa. - Sophomore Nate Seeger set the program's single-match program record for assists as the Elizabethtown College men's volleyball team opened the 2022 season with a 3-1 victory over Wilkes Tuesday night,

With the win, the Blue Jays start the year 1-0, while the Colonels falls to 14.

Seeger tallied a match-high 47 assists to break teammate Tim Zeiber's record of 46 set during the 2019 season. Junior Steve Swain hit .414 with 18 kills and nine digs and classmate Tony Camillo hit .400 with 11 kills. Junior Cameron Krebs registered a team-high 10 digs and sophomore Eric Hierl tallied four block assists.

Senior Ethan Speicher led Wilkes with nine kills and a .429 hitting percentage.

Down 13-10 in the opening set, Elizabethtown mounted a rally. Behind a kill and two aces from Swain, the Blue Jays rattled off a 7-1 run to move ahead of the Colonels 17-14. 

Wilkes tied the match at 17 and then 18, but Etown closed out the opening set with three consecutive kills from junior Blake Hildebrand, Swain and Camillo for the 25-21 win in the opening frame.

The Blue Jays snatched the momentum, jumping out to a 14-6 lead in the second set. Seeger highlighted the end of the early assisting with two assist and two aces over the final four points. Wilkes was unable to bounce back from the early hole, falling to Elizabethtown 25-13 in the second set.

After the colonels cut the deficit to one, taking the third set 25-16, the Blue Jays took control back quickly in the fourth. Holding a 6-4 advantage early in the frame, Etown rattled off six straight points, capped off by an ace from sophomore Nick Chapman, for the 12-4 lead.

Wilkes would never recover from the early deficit in the fourth set, as the Blue Jays won in dominating fashion, 25-14, for the 3-1 victory. It is the first time since 2019 that Elizabethtown has won its season opener. 

The Blue Jays return to action on Thursday, January 27 for the team's home opener against Penn State Altoona. Opening serve is set for 7 p.m.