MEN’S VOLLEYBALL TEAM SWEEPS GNAC TRI-MATCH

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The Emmanuel College Saints cruised to consecutive sweeps in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Men's Volleyball tri-match played at the Wildcat Center on the campus of Johnson & Wales University. JWU won the first match of the day, with a 5-set win over Lasell College. Emmanuel took the middle match with a 3-0 sweep of the Lasers (27-25, 25-16, 25-19), before topping the host Wildcats 3-0 (25-19, 25-22, 25-21) in the final match of the day.

After being pushed to a 27-25 victory in set one, the Saints went on to win the next two games, en route to the 3-0 win against Lasell.  Freshman Julian Hess (Santa Monica, Calif.) led the charge for Emmanuel with ten kills in 13 swings for a .692 hitting percentage. Senior setter Nick Updike collected 33 assists and five digs in the match. Raffol led Lasell with 11 kills and three digs. Freshman Ryan Jackson (Massillon, Ohio) picked up 19 assists in the setback for the Lasers.

The day wrapped up with another sweep for Emmanuel, as the Saints took care of the Wildcats in three sets. The Saints had four players with eight kills or more in the match, including Zach Whitermore (Whitehall, Pa.), who served four aces and picked up three digs. Sophomore Ashanti Jackson (Sacramento, Calif.) led the Emmanuel offense with 9 kills, while Updike handed out 36 helpers in the win.  The Wildcats were paced by Kennedy with 12 kills and nine digs. Sophomore J.J. Bessette (Coventry, R.I.) had 31 assists in the setback for JWU.

Johnson & Wales is now 8-13 overall and 5-4 in the GNAC, while Emmanuel improves to 11-12 and 6-1 in conference play. Lasell falls to 10-9 on the season and 3-3 in league play. The Saints will return to action on Tuesday, March 26^th, when they travel across town to Emerson College for a GNAC contest at 7:00 PM.

- Release courtesy of Johnson & Wales University Sports Information