MADISON, N.J. – The Drew University men's volleyball team swept a pair of opponents at its home tri-match on Saturday, defeating both Eastern University and Neumann University 3-0.
 
With their opening-match victory over Eastern, the Rangers (11-10) broke the team record victories in a season while becoming the first squad in program history to reach a double-figure win total. Drew is in its third season of varsity men's volleyball competition.
 
Against Eastern, the Rangers won by scores of 25-23, 25-21, 25-17, earning their first-ever win over the Eagles in three tries. They closed out the day with a 25-15, 25-23, 25-22 victory over Neumann.
 
Against Eastern, senior Omarf Ortega-Reyes posted seven kills without making an error on 17 attempts, and he also dished out 23 assists and threw down three blocks. Junior Ephraim Smith posted eight kills, eight digs, and three blocks, sophomore Andrew DuHaime notched seven kills and 10 digs, and junior C.J. Addeo contributed six kills and four blocks.
 
The first set was close throughout and it was tied 21-21 before the Rangers received a trio of big plays down the stretch. Smith served up an ace that made it 23-21, Addeo fired a kill that put Drew up 24-22, and Sledz delivered a kill to end the set.
 
The Eagles led 7-5 early in the second game but the Rangers used a 5-1 run to take the lead for good. Eastern kept it close the entire way, however, pulling to within one on six occasions, the last coming at 22-21. But Drew scored the final three points on a kill from Ortega-Reyes and a kill and an ace from DuHaime.
 
The Rangers jumped to a 10-5 lead in the final set, only to see Eastern rally to tie it at 12-12. But that's when Drew used a decisive 8-2 run to pull away.
 
Versus Neumann, which entered the day with a 12-5 record, Sledz registered 11 kills, 10 digs, and five aces while DuHaime also totaled 11 kills. Smith posted another eight kills and three blocks while Ortega-Reyes distributed 28 assists. Sophomore Jason Barbosa notched four blocks, and junior Bryan Do scooped 10 digs.
 
The first set against the Knights was close, and it was 14-14 before the Rangers caught fire with a game-ending 10-1 run. Sledz helped fuel the run with three of his aces.
 
The final two sets were also close, with neither side leading by more than five. The Rangers trailed 18-17 in Game Two, but that's when Sledz came alive again with three kills during a 5-1 run that helped his team pull away.
 
Drew took control early in the final set, opening on a 5-1 run, but Neumann rallied to tie it at 11-11. The Rangers seemed to be pulling away again, leading 21-16, but the Knights rallied again and pulled to within two on three occasions. But Sledz threw down his final kill to make it 24-21 before Barbosa ended the match with a kill of his own.
 
The Rangers play their final two home matches of the season when they host Kean University on Monday and Bard College on Tuesday, with both starting at 7 p.m.