Men’s Volleyball Falls to No. 15 Nichols in 3-1 Battle

THE BASICS 
Nichols College, 3 vs. Emmanuel College, 1 (25-14, 23-25, 33-31, 25-21)

Records: 
Emmanuel Saints (9-8, 3-2 GNAC)
No. 15 Nichols Bison (10-3, 0-0 NECC)

Location: Boston, Mass. – Andy Yosinoff Court

Date: Wednesday, March 1, 2023

THE LEAD – Emmanuel College squandered a late lead in a pivotal third set to No. 15 Nichols College, falling to the Bison by a 3-1 (25-14, 23-25, 33-31, 25-22) final in non-conference men's volleyball action in Boston, Mass. on Wednesday evening.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• With the match locked at 1-1 In the crucial third set, EC raced out to the early 9-5 lead following a kill by senior middle hitter Joshua McDonald (Smithtown, N.Y.) before Nichols answered with five straight points to take a 10-9 lead. Emmanuel regained the lead and went on to take a 22-19 advantage after sophomore Louis DaSilva (New Bedford, Mass.) registered a kill but two consecutive Bison scores was enough for EC to use a timeout to regroup for the finish.  Unfortunately for the hosts, they wasted seven chances to end the set all the way until a 29-29 score when Nichols flipped the serve to go ahead 30-29 on a kill from Carlos Mercado (Barranquitas, P.R). The Bison closed it out with kills by Mercado and Dylan Knapp (Wethersfield, Conn.) to take the crucial third set, 33-31.
• On the heels of the third set, Nichols used that momentum in the fourth to seal the 3-1 win. NC weathered a 4-2 start by the Saints with a 6-1 run capped with a kill from Dylan Urbanski (Clifton Park, N.Y.) to give the Bison an 8-5 lead. The Saints were able to get to within a point several times during the middle portion of the action including a 14-13 score before the No. 15 team in the nation pulled away late to seal the 25-22 win to take the match, 3-1.
• The Bison opened the match with a 7-1 scoring flurry aiding by five Emmanuel errors to set the tone for first set. The Saints weren't able to recover as Nichols went on to hit .500 (11-2-18) as a team in the frame, cruising to the 25-14 opening set win.
• In a tight second set that saw 10 ties and six lead changes, the Saints controlled the action late to secure a 25-23 win to even the match at 1-1. Trailing 18-15, EC called a timeout and out of the break scored four straight points capped with a kill by sophomore outside hitter Jyles Amirault (Andover, Mass.) to take a 19-18 lead. The Lions answered with a 3-0 run to regain a 21-19 lead, forcing Emmanuel to spend another timeout. The Saints closed out the frame on a 6-2 rally including four straight points to close out the comeback including a pair of kills from first year Trey Guest (Newington, Conn.) and another from sophomore Thor Yingling (Truro, Mass.) in the 25-23 win.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Tanner Soracco (Oxford, Conn.) paced Nichols with 13 kills and a .417 hitting percentage in the victory while Mercado and Knapp chipped in with 12 and 10 kills, respectively.
• Four Saints finished with double-digit kill totals including DaSilva (13), Amirault (12), Yingling (12) and Guest (10).
• EC senior setter Roman Fabrizio (Salem, N.H.) dished out a match-high 47 assists while his Urbanski compiled 44 in the win for Nichols.
• NC libero Nicholas Basco (Albany, N.Y.) was strong defensively for the Bison with a match-high 13 digs. EC first year libero Nick Sciabica (Floral Park, N.Y.) collected nine for the Saints.
• Nichols improved to 4-2 all-time vs. the Saints and is now 2-1 in matches played in Boston.
• The Saints drop three straight for the first time during the 2023 campaign and have now played four ranked AVCA opponents this season.

UP NEXT

• EC has a quick turnaround, hosting Emerson College tomorrow night at 7:00 PM in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) action.
• Nichols plays host to Bard on Saturday, March 4 at 11:00 AM.