The Keuka College men's volleyball team picked up its first-ever North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) victory Tuesday night, defeating Wells College in four sets for its second-straight win.

Freshman Connor Hinman (Lethbridge, Alberta/Catholic Central) recorded 14 kills with 9 digs and junior Devin Lesch (San Diego, CA/El Cajon Valley) added 7 digs, 6 kills and 4 blocks to power the Storm (5-12, 1-2 NEAC).

Sophomore Manny Fernandez (Tacoma, WA/Spanaway) added 12 digs and five kills while classmate Ryan Kelly (Clifton Springs, NY/Midlakes) had 33 assists, 10 digs and 2 service aces as Keuka won its second-straight home match following seven straight losses.

The Green and Gold won by scores of 25-19, 25-18, 17-25 and 25-13 inside the Weed Physical Arts Center.

"This is awesome, it's a big win and it's what we needed," a smiling Fernandez said afterwards.

"It was tough during our losing streak, we're talented but many of our key players are freshmen, and this is our first year working together trying to find our niche. But we're coming together and today we just stayed together. That third set, we lost it for a second but it shows our strength that we were able to pull it together and come out with a win."

Freshman Josh Makin (Lethbridge, Alberta/Catholic Central) had 11 digs, 3 kills and 2 assists while classmate Christopher Mooring (Chesapeake, VA/Hickory) added five digs and four kills for the Storm.

Makin had a big kill to spark Keuka on a 5-1 run as the Storm took a 19-9 lead in the first set. The Express (8-11) answered by winning five of six points to close within 20-14, and after a kill from John Farruggia, Wells was only down 21-17. But Kelly and Hinman each had kills to close out the first set.

After Keuka took an early 4-1 lead in the second, the Express won the next four points to lead 5-4. Hinman capped a 5-0 run with a huge kill to give the Green and Gold a 9-5 lead.

Lesch's third kill of the second set put Keuka ahead 15-12, and Fernandez added a kill for a 16-13 lead. The two schools traded points before Fernandez closed out the set with a kill for a 2-0 Storm lead.

In the third, Mooring had a big block for a 6-3 lead, but Wells won six of the next seven points to take a 9-7 lead. After Kelly had a kill, Wells scored the next six points for a 15-9 lead and went on to win the set and claw within 2-1 heading into the fourth.

Keuka took an early 4-2 lead before winning six of eight points to take a 10-4 lead. Fernandez had a kill and a solo block and Kelly added a kill to spark the Storm to a 15-5 lead.

Kelly added a kill and Hinman had back-to-back kills to put the Storm up 19-7, and sophomore Krystian Lucey (Northwood, NH/Coe-Brown Northwood) added back-to-back kills as the Storm closed out the match.

"We weren't having too much fun in the third set, we were getting a little frustrated but the fourth set we changed all that and started having more fun out there," said Hinman, the reigning NEAC Defensive Athlete of the Week.

"Our passing was great today; when the passing is there it makes it so much easier for all of us. Ryan did a great job setting us up today, and when it's easier for Ryan to do his job, it's easier for all of us. It feels good to get two straight wins, we have some confidence and we're definitely playing better now.

Keuka hits the road for the Penn State-Behrend Invitational this weekend. The Storm will face Lancaster Bible College and Thiel College on Saturday before taking on host Behrend Sunday afternoon.