BENNINGTON, Vt.- Riding a four game win streak it looked as if SVC was on its way to another win Thursday evening after the Mountaineers rattled off a first set victory 25-15. Then the Sage Gator came roaring back and won the next three sets to take a 3-1 victory at the Mountaineer Athletic Center in non-conference Men's Volleyball action.

Dylan Krowicki and Scott Fitzgerald each led the Gators with 17 kills. Spencer Hilland contributed with 15 kills for Sage which had 55 of its 57 kills assisted by Kyle Ray. Fitzgerald recorded a double-double with a team high 19 digs along with Hilland who picked 16 SVC attacks.

Freshman Corey Mills led SVC with 12 kills and a .429 hitting clip. Connor Murray and Joseph Dighton each had 10 kills in the loss. Senior libero Nick Haggerty had 16 digs and Anthony Barahona had 11. Anthony Ayala and Herson Canta each assisted on 24 kills for the Mountaineers.

In the first set SVC had a .500 hitting percentage with 17 kills, and one error on 32 attempts. Then it all changed in the second set when SVC hit .031 to a .343 hitting percentage by the Gators. In the pivotal third set, Sage jumped out to a 16-6 advantage that the Mountaineers weren't able to recover from. Gabriel Franco tried to bring SVC back with two service aces and four straight points. However, the closest Southern Vermont was able to get was 21-19, before Krowicki slammed four kills to end the set 25-21.

In the final set it looked as if SVC was going to push the match to a fifth and final set. The Mountaineers held its biggest advantage early at 12-6 after a Murray kill. Three SVC attack errors would change the momentum of the game and allow Sage to make the score 13-11. Once again SVC opened a seven point advantage at 22-15 with sights set on a fifth set. Then a service error, and an attack error by SVC, coupled with two kills from Krowicki made the score 22-19. Once again, Murray would bring the momentum to SVC with a kill at 23-19. After a kill from each side, the Mountaineers made four consecutive errors, to make the score 24-24. Another Murray kill gave SVC its final lead of the night at 25-24, but then a service error by SVC and kills from Fitzgerald and Hilland gave Sage its third set win of the evening and a match victory.

Southern Vermont drops to 4-5 while Sage improves to 7-4. The Mountaineers will look to keep its unblemished New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) record on Saturday when they host Endicott at 3PM.