MADISON, N.J. – The Drew University men's volleyball team extended its season with an incredible five-set victory over Elizabethtown College in its Continental Volleyball Conference (CVC) regular-season finale in Baldwin Gym on Saturday.
 
The Rangers, who staved off defeat while facing match point, clinched a berth in the upcoming CVC playoffs in their first year competing in the conference. Postseason match-ups will be announced later this week.
 
Later in the day, Drew closed out the regular season with a 3-1 victory over Lehman College in a non-conference tilt to complete a tri-match sweep.
 
Versus Elizabethtown, senior Ephraim Smith posted 13 kills and 12 digs. Freshman Michael Shipman added 12 kills and five blocks while hitting .333, and classmate Matthew Adegbite rounded out a balanced offensive attack with 12 kills. Senior C.J. Addeo contributed eight kills and seven blocks, and freshman Quinn Donahue registered 42 assists and eight digs as the Rangers earned their first win in four all-time meetings with the Blue Jays.
 
Braydon Ambruster paced Etown with 20 kills.
 
The Rangers claimed the first set 25-22 versus the Blue Jays before Elizabethtown captured the second and third sets, both by a score of 25-21, to assume a 2-1 lead. Drew was two points from a loss in the fourth set, as the match was tied at 23-all before Smith came up big with a kill and an ace to force a deciding set.
 
Drew was in control early in the final stanza, when it raced out to a 4-1 lead on kills from Addeo, Adegbite, and Smith. Drew was four points from a victory after a kill from Donahue made it 11-7, but the Blue Jays were not done, using a 3-1 spurt to cut it to 12-10.
 
Freshman Gio Martin threw down a kill to make it 13-10, but that's when Elizabethtown answered with a 5-1 run, approaching the doorstep of a come-from-behind win with a 15-14 lead. However, Smith saved the day once again for the Rangers, this time with a kill that made it 15-all, and a pair of Etown attack errors clinched the win for Drew.
 
Against Lehman, the Lightning won the opening set 25-21 before the Rangers won going away, winning 25-22, 25-12, and 25-22.
 
Shipman and freshman Nathaniel Fisbeck paced Drew with 13 kills apiece versus Lehman while junior Jason Barbosa tallied 10 kills. Classmate Barend Oostdam notched nine kills and five blocks while Donahue turned in 45 assists and six blocks. Senior Bryan Do added 10 digs in his final home appearance.