Men's Volleyball Splits Tri-Match Saturday With Loss at Rivier, Victory vs. Emerson

NASHUA, N.H. – Emmanuel men's volleyball earned a split of Saturday's tri-match after falling in five sets to the hosts Rivier and picking up a straight sets victory over Emerson in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) tripleheader at Muldoon Gym.

Rivier swept the tri-match, improving to 6-4 (2-0 GNAC) with the wins. The Saints split moves them to 4-5 (1-2 GNAC) while the pair of defeats drops the Lions to 1-4 (0-2 GNAC).

MATCH ONE: Rivier 3 – Emmanuel 2 (25-17, 25-13, 22-25, 25-16, 15-8)

The opening match of the day needed five sets to decide a winner after the Saints came back to avoid a straight sets loss and force a fifth frame after winning the third and fourth set.

In the fifth, after the two sides split the first two points, the Raiders grabbed control of the final set with six straight points, with the use of three kills, one Saints error, and two aces for senior Isaac Borges (New Boston, N.H.), giving Rivier a 7-1 lead.

Every Saints attempt to comeback was quickly thwarted, as Emmanuel could only get as close as five. The Raiders finished the set with back-to-back kills, taking the fifth 15-8. Rivier hit a match-high .615 from the floor in the final set with 10 kills on 13 attempts with two errors.

After gaining control of Saturday's match with a 25-17 first set win and a 25-13 second set win, the Raiders struggled to put away the Saints, who never trailed in the third set and hit a team-best .391 from the floor in the fourth to force a fifth frame.

Raiders grad student Sokunbuth Ly (Lowell, Mass.) finished with a team-high 15 kills to go along with six digs. Seniors Ryan Peace (Goffstown, N.H.) and Chris Lezon (Lincoln, R.I.) both chipped in with nine kills.

Saints sophomore Michael Shelley (San Francisco, Calif.) led all players with 16 kills, hitting .216 in the opening match. Junior Jyles Amirault (Andover, Mass.) added a season-high 11 kills. First-year Quincy Moore (Winchester, Mass.) made his team debut with 36 assists.

MATCH TWO: Emmanuel 3 – Emerson 0 (25-16, 25-19, 25-23)

After a five-set thriller in match one, the Saints earned their first GNAC victory of the campaign, coming in straight sets over the Emerson Lions.

The momentum from match one carried into the first set with Emmanuel hitting a red-hot .522 from the floor with 13 kills on 23 attempts and one lone error. After a tight set in the early stages, the Saints broke free with a 15-6 run to end the set, including winning the final five points, capped off by a kill for Shelley, in the 25-16 set win.

Emmanuel didn't slow down in the second, finishing the set with an attack percentage of .455 with a match-best 14 kills in the frame. The Saints were out in front early, winning nine of the first 10 points and never looking back. The Lions managed to close within five on numerous occasions, but Saints sophomore Trey Guest (Newington, Conn.) provided the set-winning kill in a 25-19 second set win.

In the third set, the leads for either side never extended past three points but the Saints proved to be up for the challenge by set's end. Tied 20-20, consecutive errors by the Lions and a kill by junior Thor Yingling (Truro, Mass.) would prove vital for the Saints straight sets win, as they now led 23-20.

Emerson answered with back-to-back points to trail 23-22. A Lions service error set up match point and after an attack error in his first attempt to end the match, Shelley got a second chance and took advantage of the opportunity with a match-clinching kill, giving the Saints a 25-23 set win.

Shelley led all Saints with 11 kills and seven digs in the victory. Guest and junior Louis Da Silva (Marseille, France) each added seven kills while Da Silva finished with a .667 attack percentage.

Lions sophomore Theo Hackett (Portland, Maine) had a match-best 12 kills to go with a .308 hitting percentage. Junior Bayden Slavik (Chicago, Ill.) had 21 assists in the loss.

UP NEXT

The Saints return home for a Valentine's Day date with Eastern Nazarene on Feb. 14 at 7:00 p.m. The Raiders finish up an eight-game homestand with a GNAC battle against Dean on Feb. 15 at 7:00 p.m. The Lions head for Regis on Feb. 13 for a 7:00 p.m. match in conference action.