Men's Volleyball Posts GNAC Wins over Regis & Elms in Saturday Sweep

THE BASICS 

Score: 
Emmanuel College, 3 – Regis College, 1 (25-20, 25-19, 19-25, 25-19)
Emmanuel College, 3 – Elms College, 0 (25-15, 25-16, 25-19)

Records: 
Emmanuel College Saints (14-10, 7-3 GNAC)
Regis College Pride (8-13, 3-6 GNAC)
Elms College Blazers (3-19, 2-8 GNAC)

Location: Chicopee, Mass. – Elms College Athletic Center

Date: Saturday, March 25, 2023

THE LEAD – Emmanuel College posted a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) tri-match sweep on Saturday afternoon topping Regis College, 3-1, before posting a 3-0 victory over host Elms College in men's volleyball action in Chicopee, Mass. The victories extend the Saints winning streak to five straight, their longest of the campaign.

HOW IT HAPPENED (vs. Regis)

• Both teams struggled in the opening set and posted a negative hitting percentage but the Saints overcame the slow start to take a 1-0 lead with a 25-20 win.
• EC rebounded with their best set of the day in set two, hitting .455 (18-3-33) as a team to sit comfortably with a 2-0 lead in the match.
• The Pride responded with their strongest set in the tilt, hitting .346 (12-3-26) and closing the set on a 9-1 surge to post a 25-19 win and force a fourth set.
• Regis scored the first two points in the fourth set before the Saints answered with four straight to take the lead for good in the 25-19 clincher to take the match, 3-1.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS (vs. Regis)

• The EC first year duo of Michael Shelley (San Francisco, Calif.) and Trey Guest (Newington, Conn.) combined for 29 kills in the victory with Shelley recording 15 and Guest 14, respectively.
• Senior setter Roman Fabrizio (Salem, N.H.) dished out 42 helpers and added 12 digs.
• Sophomore Jyles Amirault (Andover, Mass.) was one kill shy of a double-double with nine kills and 12 digs.
• First year libero Nick Sciabica (Floral Park, N.Y.) added a match-high 13 digs in the win.
• Joseph Perez paced the Pride with a match-high 18 kills, hitting .300 on the day (18-6-40).

HOW IT HAPPENED (vs. Elms)

• Elms jumped out to a quick 7-2 lead in the opening set before the Saints put together an 8-0 run to turn a four-point deficit into a 13-9 lead following a kill by senior middle hitter Josh McDonald (Smithtown, N.Y), cruising to the 25-15 win in set one.
• Emmanuel stayed focus in set two, posting a 25-16 win to take the commanding 2-0 lead on the day.
• The Blazers and Saints traded points in the third set to a 12-12 score before EC closed the frame on a 13-6 surge including seven consecutive errors to close out the match in the 25-19 win for the 3-0 sweep.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS (vs. Elms)

• Emmanuel sophomore Thor Yingling (Turro, Mass.) recorded a match-high seven kills while McDonald and sophomore Louis DaSilva (Marseille, France) chipped in with six kills each.
• First year setter Dominic DeFerrari (Miami, Fla.) notched 17 assists.
• Cecil Villa shared the match-high kill total with Yingling at seven to lead the way for the Blazers while Collin Liedke posted a match-high 14 digs.
• Emmanuel held the Blazers to a negative -.033 hitting performance on the day.

UP NEXT

• Emmanuel looks to make it six in a row on Thursday, March 30 in Franklin, Mass. vs. Dean College at 6:00 PM.
• Regis also plays Dean next, two days earlier on Tuesday, March 28 in Franklin at 7:00 PM.
• Elms hosts Colby-Sawyer on Thursday at 6:00 PM.