MADISON, N.J. – The Drew University men's volleyball team battled Kean University to extra points in the third set, but the Rangers came up on the short end of a 3-0 decision Thursday evening in Baldwin Gym.
 
The Cougars (8-6) won by scores of 25-19, 25-14, and 27-25.
 
Kean and Drew are Continental Volleyball Conference (CVC) opponents, but will play their CVC matchup on March 14 at Kean.
 
Freshman Matthew Adegbite threw down nine kills while classmate Gio Martin contributed eight kills. Junior Andrew DuHaime handed out 31 assists, and freshmen Gavin Cantada and Eric Forget added six digs each.
 
Chris Mitchell led Kean with 17 kills.
 
The Cougars never trailed in the first set after scoring the first four points. The Rangers closed to within one on five occasions, the last coming at 10-9, but that's when Kean used a 6-0 burst to break it open.
 
Drew led in the early going in the second set, when it scored the first three points. The Rangers led 10-9 after an Adegbite kill, but Kean scored the next seven points and ended the set on a 16-4 run.
 
Neither side led by more than three in an extremely tight third set, which featured 12 ties and three lead changes. The Cougars held an early 5-2 lead, only to see the Rangers rally with a 6-1 run to take a two-point advantage.
 
It was 14-14 when Drew scored three straight points, including a kill from senior Ephraim Smith and a combined block from Martin and freshman Michael Shipman. The Rangers held a three-point lead four more times, the last coming on another kill from Smith that made it 21-18.
 
Kean rallied and was serving for match point at 24-23, but Martin kept the Rangers alive with a kill. The Cougars led 25-24 but committed a service error; however, the visitors scored the final two points on a Drew service error and a kill from Mitchell.
 
The Rangers continue their season on Saturday with a highly-competitive tri-match at Stevens Institute. Drew takes on No. 9-ranked Wentworth at 11 a.m. and No. 4 Stevens at 3 p.m.