Men's Volleyball Sweeps Regis, Advances to GNAC Semifinal
BOSTON – After two tightly contested sets, Saints Men’s Volleyball (17-9, 9-5 GNAC) pulled away in the third to secure a 3-0 (25-23, 25-22, 25-18) victory over Regis (10-19, 5-9 GNAC) in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) tournament quarterfinal Tuesday night on Andy Yosinoff Court.
BOSTON – After two tightly contested sets, Saints Men's Volleyball (17-9, 9-5 GNAC) pulled away in the third to secure a 3-0 (25-23, 25-22, 25-18) victory over Regis (10-19, 5-9 GNAC) in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) tournament quarterfinal Tuesday night on Andy Yosinoff Court.
Michael Shelley (San Francisco, Calif.) got the Saints off to a hot start with two kills to score the first points of the playoff matchup. After the Pride's Jay Bodhidatta (Bangkok, Thailand) knotted the game at six, the Saints retook the lead via a Jyles Amirault (Andover, Massachusetts) kill. Emmanuel maintained a slight edge throughout the remainder of the set to take a 25-23 win.
Both sides traded points past the midway point of the second set as the Pride looked to even the contest. With the score deadlocked at 14, Shelley and Amirault rose up for back-to-back kills followed by an Amirault ace for a three-point advantage. Regis battled back with Eddie Djatcha (Lowell, Mass.) knotting the game at 20, but the Saints went on to reel off another three-point streak and ultimately took a 2-0 lead with a 25-22 set two victory.
Once again, the two sides battled back and forth deep into the third set. With the Saints leading 15-14, Emmanuel erupted on an 8-1 run to take a commanding lead. It was Shelley who rose up on match point for a kill to finalize the 3-0 quarterfinal victory with a 25-18 triumph.
Joseph Perez (Miami, Fla.) led the Pride offense with 14 kills while Tyrell Bucasas (Waialua, Hawaii) contributed 26 assists in the loss. Shelley led the Saints attack with 16 kills and Dominic DeFerrari (Miami, Fla.) added a match-best 29 assists. Amirault finished with 11 kills, tied for his season-high, in the win.
Up next, the Saints will travel up the street to face top-seeded and No. 3 nationally ranked Wentworth in the GNAC semifinal on Thursday at 7:00 P.M. Regis concludes their season with a final record of 10-19 and 5-9 in GNAC play.
