Senior Night Successful for Men’s Volleyball With 3-1 Win vs. Regis

THE BASICS 

Score: 
Emmanuel 3 – Regis 1 (18-25, 25-20, 25-12, 25-20)

Records: 
Emmanuel College Saints (16-12, 9-5 GNAC)
Regis College Pride (10-16, 5-9 GNAC)

Location: Boston, Mass. – Jean Yawkey Center / Andy Yosinoff Court

Date: Tuesday, April 4, 2023

THE LEAD – After dropping the opening set of the evening, Emmanuel men's volleyball stormed back to claim the next three sets, picking up a 3-1 win over Regis on Tuesday evening in Great Northeast Athletic Conference action.

Prior to the start of the match, the men's volleyball program recognized seniors Josh McDonald (Smithtown, N.Y.), Patrick Mannion (New Boston, N.H.), and Roman Fabrizio (Salem, N.H.) in a Senior Night ceremony, celebrating their accomplishments with the team.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Pride came out strong in the opening set, nearly leading wire-to-wire while claiming victory on the back of 16 team kills and an impressive .519 hitting percentage. Regis pulled away early in the set, maintaining a comfortable lead throughout play. Emmanuel could only get as close as four in the late going as a block by RC graduate Orlando Plagata (Los Angeles, Calif.) and sophomore Francesco Buanne (Caserta, Italy) resulted in a first-set Pride win, 25-18.
• Emmanuel answered back in the second set, using their own set of 16 team kills and a .333 hitting percentage to win the second. EC opened an early 11-4 lead and despite the Pride closing to within three points on multiple occasions, the Saints held on and following a kill by first-year Trey Guest (Newington, Conn.), Emmanuel claimed the second set, 25-20.
• The third set was the outlier of Tuesday's play, despite another strong showing by EC with 13 team kills and a blazing .526 hitting percentage. Emmanuel again opened up an early lead that was quickly closed in on by Regis. But any opportunity for a comeback was quickly erased as the Saints ended the third on a 7-0 run, capped by an ace for first-year Dominic DeFerrari (Miami, Fla.), giving EC the 25-12 set win.
• In the final set of the night, momentum was difficult to come by as the two sides battled to a 12-12 tie, with neither team holding a lead of more than two points. The Saints managed to win five of the next six points to lead 17-13 and create the breathing room needed in the final set. The four-point lead held for much of the late stages and McDonald put down match point with EC winning the fourth, 25-20.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Saints sophomore Jyles Amirault (Andover, Mass.) matched a season-high with 19 kills while hitting .378 on the night.
• Sophomore Thor Yingling (Truro, Mass.) finished with a career-high 15 kills while hitting a stellar and match-best .522 from the floor.
• Guest ended the night with 13 kills and three block assists while fellow first-year Nick Sciabica (Floral Park, N.Y.) had a match-high 15 digs.
• Fabrizio ended the night with 50 assists on 57 team kills for the Saints. It's the second time this season Fabrizio has eclipsed 50 assists.
• Pride junior Joseph Perez (Miami, Fla.) had a team-high 17 kills to go with seven digs and four total blocks.
• Plagata came away with 13 kills while hitting .250 on the evening. The graduate outside hitter added five digs and three total blocks.

UP NEXT

• The Saints welcome Lesley University for a doubleheader on Thursday, April 6, at the Jean Yawkey Center for the final home matches of the EC regular season, with play starting at 6:00 p.m.
• The Pride return for their final games of the regular season on Saturday, April 8, traveling to Colby-Sawyer for a tri-match with the Chargers and Dean College, starting at 11:00 a.m.