MADISON, N.J. – The Drew University men's volleyball team captured a pair of firsts with its 3-1 victory over No. 18-ranked Kean University Tuesday evening in Baldwin Gym.
 
The win marked Drew's first-ever victory over a nationally-ranked team since men's volleyball became a varsity sport at The Forest in 2022. In addition, it was the Rangers' first-ever victory over the Cougars.
 
Drew won by scores of 25-23, 25-12, 18-25, and 25-17.
 
The Rangers (12-12, 2-2 CVC) hit a red-hot .336 for the night, with sophomore Gio Martin leading the way with 17 kills and just one error on 31 swings for a .516 hitting performance. Classmate Michael Shipman added 15 kills without making an error on 22 attempts for a .682 hitting percentage, improving on his own team record of .615 set last season against Wilkes University. Shipman also served up three aces and threw down five blocks (three solo) to tie his own school record for blocks in a season (78).
 
Sophomore Matthew Adegbite also enjoyed a stellar hitting performance, slamming 14 kills while making just a single error on 33 swings for a .394 mark.
 
Sophomore Quinn Donahue dished out 44 assists and broke the single-season school record for assists in a season, surpassing the former mark of 623 held by Huriel Perez C'25 since the team's inaugural campaign in 2022. Donahue added six kills and three blocks.
 
Senior Jason Barbosa and sophomore Eric Forget held the line defensively with 17 and 16 digs, respectively.
 
Chris Mitchell paced Kean (18-9, 3-2 CVC) with 24 kills.
 
The first set was a back-and-forth clash that featured 11 ties and five lead changes. The Cougars led 23-22, but that's when Martin came up big with back-to-back kills before a Kean setting error clinched it for the Rangers.
 
It was all Rangers in the second set, when Drew hit a blistering .425. The Blue and Green bolted to a 13-5 lead and kept their foot on the pedal, extending it to 19-7. Martin delivered seven of his kills in the set.
 
Kean answered in the third set, hitting .424 in a set that included four ties and three lead changes. Mitchell had a hot hand in the set, firing 10 kills. Drew led 6-3, but the Cougars answered with a 18-8 run to take a commanding 21-14 lead.
 
The Rangers never trailed in the final set after breaking out to a 4-0 lead, with Adegbite smoking a pair of kills in the early stretch. Kean twice pulled to within one, and the Rangers led just 12-9 before pulling away with an 8-3 surge that made it 20-12. Adegbite and Shipman smashed two kills each during the decisive run, and the Rangers led by at least seven the rest of the way.
 
Drew returns to CVC play on Friday, when it visits No. 2-ranked Juniata College at 7 p.m.