Men’s Volleyball Drops Pair in Tight GNAC Race on Senior Day

THE BASICS 

Score: 
Match 1: Regis 3 – Emmanuel 1

Match 2: Elms 3 – Regis 0

Match 3: Elms 3 – Emmanuel 0

Records: 
Emmanuel College Saints (12-12, 5-7 GNAC)
Regis College Pride (12-12, 7-5 GNAC)

Elms College Blazers (11-13, 7-6 GNAC)

Location: Boston, Mass. – JYC Gymnasium/Yosinoff Court

Date: Saturday, March 26, 2022

THE LEAD – In a tri-match Saturday that pitted the fourth, fifth, and sixth place teams in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference standings, it was the Elms Blazers that came away with a pair of wins on the afternoon. The Pride walked away 1-1 while the home side Emmanuel Saints took two losses on the day.

Prior to the start of the matches, Emmanuel College Men's Volleyball congratulated Class of 2022 member, senior Tyler Behsman (Derry, N.H.) for his career accomplishments on Senior Day.

MATCH ONE: Regis 3 – Emmanuel 1 (25-22, 28-30, 25-22, 25-22)

• In a back-and-forth opening set, the Saints and Pride played down to a 22-22 tie at the end of the set. Regis took the first set from the Saints after Pride junior Josh Nolen (Falls Church, Va.) claimed three straight kills in a 25-22 Pride win.
• In the second, the Pride looked poised to grab the set, leading 23-20, but an EC comeback had the sides evened up at 24-24. The Saints managed to defend two set points and went on to win the second set after back-to-back kills from first-year Jyles Amirault (Andover, Mass.) gave Emmanuel a 30-28 set victory.
• The third set belonged to the Pride for much of the play, leading by as many as six, late in the set. Another EC comeback was on the way after the Saints cut the deficit to 23-22 following five consecutive won points. A Nolen kill got the Pride within a point of the set and an Amirault error in the next point would give the third set to Regis, 25-22.
• The fourth played out similar to the third, with Regis jumping out to a large lead early, this time by as much as 11 points at 19-8. From there, Emmanuel charged back with a 12-3 scoring run, cutting the Pride lead to 22-20. But like the third, the hole for EC was too large to comeback from and a Regis kill for first-year Robert Burch (Coxsackie, N.Y.) would end the set, 25-22, and the match, 3-1.
• Pride senior Matt Ferrara (Sandown, N.H.) and sophomore Joseph Perez (Miami, Fla.) each finished with 14 kills while Nolen added 13 for Regis. The trio accounted for 41 of the team's 51 total kills.
• For Emmanuel, Amirault led the match, finishing with 21 kills. First-year Maximilian Olsen (Barnstable, Mass.) added nine kills while hitting .421 in the match.

MATCH TWO: Elms 3 – Regis 0 (25-22, 27-25, 25-19)

• The opening set of match two was another tightly contested battle on the neutral site of Yosinoff Court. The Blazers used a stretch of five out of six points toward the end of the set to create some breathing room and a 20-16 lead. The Pride pulled back to within a point, but a kill by Elms junior Moose Perry (Holyoke, Mass.) and a service ace for senior Luis Martinez (Bayamon, P.R.) would hand the Blazers a first set win, 25-22.
• The second set never saw a team lead by more than two, as Regis and Elms battled down the stretch of another closely contested set. Both sides had an opportunity at set point to win the second, but back-to-back Pride errors would ultimately give the Blazers a 27-25 second set victory.
• In the final set and in another close fight for momentum, it was a 6-2 stretch for the Blazers, in the middle of the set, that opened up enough of an advantage to take them across the line. Elms held a four-point lead for much of the final moments and one last attack error on the Pride would clinch a straight-sets win for the Blazers, after a 25-19 third set win.
• Elms senior Carlos Mercado (Barranquitas, P.R.) and Regis junior Josh Nolen (Falls Church, Va.) each finished with 18 kills for their respective teams.
• Senior Pedro De Jesus (East Hartford, Conn.) added 13 kills for the Blazers while senior Matt Ferrara (Sandown, N.H.) and sophomore Joseph Perez (Miami, Fla.) each added nine kills for the Pride.

MATCH THREE: Elms 3 – Emmanuel 0 (25-23, 25-18, 28-26)

• The theme of close battles continued into match three of the afternoon with the first set between the Saints and Blazers coming down to the final moments. A four-point run late in the set proved vital for Elms to gain momentum as senior Pedro De Jesus (East Hartford, Conn.) finished off the opening set with a kill to give Elms a 25-23 set win.
• In the second set, the Blazers were out in front from the start, jumping out to an 18-9 lead through the middle of the set. The Saints did their best to stage a comeback, pulling to within six on multiple occasions, but time ran out on Emmanuel as a kill by junior Benjamin Laxton (Chicopee, Mass.) gave the second set to the Blazers, 25-18.
• The final set played out similarly to the first set of the match with both sides battling for momentum. After trading points from 14-14 all the way to 26-26, the final set of the afternoon came down to serving. After an Emmanuel service error set up match point for Elms, Blazers senior Luis Martinez (Bayamon, P.R.) finished off the match with an ace, helping Elms to the 28-26 set win and straight sets sweep.
• Blazers senior Carlos Mercado (Barranquitas, P.R.) finished with a match-high 20 kills to go along with 10 digs. Martinez chipped in with 15 kills while hitting .407 from the floor.
• Saints first-year Jyles Amirault (Andover, Mass.) finished with team-highs of 10 kills and 11 digs. Junior Joshua McDonald (Smithtown, N.Y.) added eight kills with a .400 attack percentage for Emmanuel while first-year Thor Yingling (Truro, Mass.) ended the match with six kills.

UP NEXT

• With a week to go in the regular season, the Saints and Pride will play again on March 29 with Regis hosting the key GNAC game, scheduled for 6:00 p.m.
• The Blazers head back home where they will face Emerson on March 29 at 7:00 p.m.