WASHINGTON – While temperatures in the nation's capital plunged below freezing and reached negative numbers, due to wind chill, the men's volleyball action in the Field House was just warming up on a blustery Saturday.

Gallaudet University hosted a non-conference tri-match between Averett University and Lehman College. The Bison defeated the Lehman Lightning, 3-1, in the first match while the Cougars from Averett swept the next two matches. Averett defeated Lehman in four sets (15-25, 25-20, 25-21, 25-19) and came back to win the final two sets over the host Bison in a five-set thriller, 3-2.

Gallaudet (2-6) dropped its first set in each match on Saturday but was able to regroup each time in the second and third sets.

In the match against the Lightning, the visitors won the first set 22-25 before GU swept Lehman by the scores of 25-18, 30-28, 25-19. Gallaudet only had four attack errors in the second and fourth set.

Sophomore outside hitter Zachary Bippus (Fishers, Ind.) led the way with 17 kills, 14 digs and six service aces. Sophomore middle hitter Tyler Wascher (Noblesville, Ind.) was second on the team with 15 kills while fellow sophomore outside hitter Kodi Lee (Lehi, Utah) added 13 kills and eight digs. Sophomore setter Troy Holcomb (Fremont, Calif.) passed out 46 assists and made 10 digs, two blocks and two aces. Sophomore libero Elian Zfati (Brooklyn, N.Y.) made a match high 20 digs and four assists. Sophomore middle hitter Luke McBrine (Weymouth, Mass.) was a force in the middle with six blocks (two solo).

Lehman (1-6) won the first set against Averett but the Cougars settled in and after posting a negative hitting percentage in the opener they posted .250 or higher the rest of the way in the 3-1 win over the Lightning. Lehman's Jordan Johnson recorded 14 kills in each match for the Lightning on Saturday. Averett had three players tally 10 or more kills and setter Luke Brown chalked up 37 assists in the win.

The match of the day was saved for last as Gallaudet and Averett (3-2) went toe-to-toe in a marathon contest between the two evenly skilled teams. In the third and fourth sets, neither team led by more than four points and in the third the teams literally traded points on 10 straight possessions. Neither team led by more than two points the rest of the third set after GU held an 11-8 lead.

The closeness of the match lasted until the fifth and decisive set when GU made six attack errors and two service mistakes. The match was knotted at 8-8 before Averett closed things out with seven straight points.

Bippus posted a match high 16 kills and completed the double-double with 15 digs and two blocks. Wascher and McBrine tallied nine kills each while the duo made four and three blocks, respectively. Holcomb passed out 39 assists and made 13 digs and three blocks while Zfati made a team-high 16 digs and four assists. Lee played in the first three sets and made eight kills.

Averett's duo of Liam Audrain and Nicholas Breen had 13 kills each and finished with double doubles with 13 and 11 digs, respectively. Brown assisted 39 kills and made a match-high 18 digs and three aces in the victory.

BISON TRACKS

• Bippus set new career marks for kills (17), digs (15) and service aces (six)
• Wascher improved on his career high for kills with 15
• McBrine set new career highs in kills (nine) and blocks (six)
• Troy Holcomb just missed his career best mark for assists of 47 set last year when he finished with 46 against Lehman
• This was the second meeting between GU and Lehman as the two teams faced each other on Feb. 23, 2013, where the Lightning won in straight sets
• This was the first meeting between Averett and Gallaudet
• The Cougars have only played men's volleyball since 2024, this is AU's third season 

UP NEXT
Gallaudet will host Hood College (1-5) on Thursday, Feb. 12, at 7 p.m. for a non-conference game.