MADISON, N.J. – The Drew University men's volleyball team made history Wednesday evening in Baldwin Gym, recording the first conference victory in the four-year history of the program.
 
The Rangers defeated Wilkes University 3-2 in Continental Volleyball Conference (CVC) action, prevailing by scores of 25-15, 21-25, 27-29, 25-14, 15-8.
 
Drew competed as an independent for its first three years as a varsity program before joining the CVC prior to this season.
 
Freshman Michael Shipman turned in an outstanding performance for the Rangers, throwing down a season-high 18 kills while making just two errors on 26 attempts for a school-record .615 hitting percentage. He also registered four blocks. Meanwhile, classmate Quinn Donahue distributed a school-record 51 assists and registered a pair of big plays in final set.
 
First-year Matthew Adegbite added 14 kills while hitting .300 for the Rangers while freshman Gio Martin and senior Ephraim Smith contributed 10 kills apiece. Senior C.J. Addeo posted seven kills and blocks while freshman Eric Forget aided the defense with 16 digs.
 
Jackson Shaffer paced the Colonels with 11 kills and 13 digs.
 
The Rangers, playing just their third five-set match of the season, never trailed in the deciding set after outscoring Wilkes 4-1 to open the period. The Colonels scored the next three points, but Drew answered with a 7-1 run to opened up a commanding 11-5 advantage. Martin threw down back-to-back kills midway through the run.
 
Donahue fired a kill to make it 13-6, and he added a block to hand the Rangers a 14-7 lead before Adegbite ended the match with a kill.
 
The Rangers continue CVC play on Friday, when they host No. 5-ranked Juniata College at 7 p.m. on Senior Night.