NEWTON, Mass. – Mount Ida College hit .500 in the deciding fifth set and emerged with a 3-2 victory over visiting Sage College in a back and forth non-conference men's volleyball affair on Wednesday evening at Mount Ida Athletic Center.

The Mustangs (2-6) get revenge on Sage (3-9) after the Gators handed them a straight set defeat in Albany earlier this season.

James Ames (W. Hartford, Conn.) had a game-high 17 kills and Mount Ida never trailed, but saw Sage square up the match twice before the Mustangs emerged 25-19, 22-25, 25-20, 19-25, and 15-10.

Ames hit .400 in the contest and also tallied three service aces and four digs, while Peter Griffenkranz (Deer Park, N.Y.) had a double-double with 10 digs and 13 kills.

The Gators were led offensively by Ryan Guyton (Lockport, N.Y.), with 16 kills and a .357 hitting percentage, along with four service aces and eleven digs.

Bailey Cecchi (Agawam, Mass.) turned in a 14-kill performance with five digs and a pair of block assists.

The two-setter offense of Mount Ida offense clicked thanks to Jimmy Wessel IDeKalb, Ill.), with 21 assists and five digs, and 16 assists from Michael McCullough (Southborough, Mass.).

A pair of freshman hitters, Brett Southworth (Orange, Conn.) and Nate Gyampo (Providence, R.I.) posted six kills apiece in the Mustang victory.

Zachary Karl (Central Square, N.Y.) added four kills for the Sage College attack, which ran through Casey Fitzpatrick (Haverhill, Mass.), who racked up a game-high 38 assists.

Mount Ida heads out into Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) play on Saturday with a tri-match down the road at Lasell College. The Mustangs will first face Emmanuel at 1:00 pm before facing the host Lasers at 3:00 pm.

The Gators head into Skyline Conference play as well with a home tri-match Saturday against Ramapo and Purchase.