MEN'S VOLLEYBALL NOTCHES 20TH WIN WITH GNAC SWEEP OVER JWU & LASELL

PROVIDENCE, R.I. - The Emmanuel College men's volleyball team closed out the regular-season with a pair of 3-1 Great Northeast Athletic Conference victories Saturday afternoon, posting wins over host Johnson & Wales University as well as Lasell College to head into the GNAC playoffs with an overall record of 20-11, marking the program's first 20+ win season in eight years.

Records:
Emmanuel 20-11, 9-5 GNAC
Johnson & Wales: 20-10, 9-5 GNAC
Lasell: 13-16, 7-7 GNAC

Statistical Leaders:
Erik English: 19 kills & 10 digs vs JWU / 14 kills & 14 digs vs. Lasell
Seamus McDonagh: 57 assists vs JWU / 49 assists vs. Lasell
Mike Kokoras: 14 kills vs. JWU / 11 kills vs. Lasell
Max Gottuso: 13 digs vs. JWU / 11 digs vs. Lasell
Tyler Beshman: 12 digs vs. JWU / 10 digs vs. Lasell
Justyn Schueler: 14 kills vs. JWU
John Carroll: 11 kills vs. Lasell

Jack Pincince (JWU): 19 kills vs. EC 
Sanjae Holloway (JWU):  12 kills vs. EC
Cameron Ponce (JWU): 45 assists, 12 digs vs. EC 

David Anthony (LAS): 15 kills vs. EC
Conor Leary-Watson (LAS): 14 kills vs. EC
Jordan Aprea (LAS): 18 digs vs. EC

Of Note:

With the sweep, the Saints earn their 20th win of the year marking the first time since the 2011 season that program has posted a 20+ win season.

For the second time in three years, the Wildcats won a school-record 20 matches.

English added four aces in the win over JWU to go along with two in the win over Lasell to add to his nation-leading total of 82 aces on the year.

With 12 digs against Emmanuel, JWU senior Cameron Ponce became the program's all-time digs leader. Currently, he has 782 career digs.

JWU started out strong against Emmanuel with a .419 hitting percentage in the first set, but that rate dropped as the match progressed. The Wildcats had an overall rate of .288 while allowing the Saints to hit .386.

McDonagh's 57 assists marked a new career-high for the junior in the win.

Ponce posted a double-double against Emmanuel, he turned in a season-high 45 assists and 12 digs.

UP NEXT

All three teams advance to next week's Great Northeast Athletic Conference tournament. JWU is the third seed for the second year in a row while the Saints earn the fourth seed. The Wildcats will host No. 6 Emerson on Tuesday at 7:00 PM while the Saints will see No. 5 Lasell in Boston on Tuesday at 7:00 PM. The Wildcats won the head-to-head tie-breaker with the Saints due to total sets won vs. each other. In their first meeting, the Wildcats swept the Saints 3-0 and then picked up a set in today's 3-1 defeat to edge Emmanuel, 4-3 in sets won for the No. 3 seed.

*Release courtesy of JWU Athletic Communications