MEN’S VOLLEYBALL OPENS 2014 CAMPAIGN WITH 3-1 WIN OVER SOUTHERN VT

BOSTON, Mass. – The Emmanuel College men's volleyball team opened the 2014 with a 3-1 (25-14, 23-25, 25-16, 25-19) victory over Southern Vermont College Sunday morning at the Jean Yawkey Center. The Saints, who received four votes in the most recent AVCA national poll, improve to 1-0 on the year while the loss drops the Mountaineers to 1-3 overall.

EC jumped out to an early 6-1 lead following three consecutive service aces from junior outside hitter Zach Whitermore (Whitehall, Pa.). The Saints continued to push and a solo block by junior middle hitter Wyatt Cooper (Ridgefield, Conn.) made it 14-6 and forced the Mountaineers to spend a timeout. Southern Vermont would hang tough and a kill from junior outside hitter James Barker (Southborough, Mass.) made it 16-8 but the visitors were unable to mount any comeback as Emmanuel cruised to a 25-14 win in the opening set hitting .455 as a team while notching six aces.

A kill from SVC junior outside hitter Scott FItzgeralnd (Fort Edward, N.Y.) opened the action in set two but Emmanuel wasted no time to take control, rattling off the next three points including a service ace from Whitermore. The blocking tandem of Cooper and junior outsidehitter Ashanti Jackson (Sacramento, Calif.) kept the Mountaineers front line at bay with two blocks in the early goings of the set. Fitzgerald evened the score at 6-6 with an ace and kill but a kill from EC sophomore middle hitter Garrett McGarry (Chicago, Ill.) gave the hosts the lead. The Mountaineers tied the score at 19-19 following a joust at the net that went in favor of senior setter Anthony Ayala (Pico Rivera, Calif.). An ace from junior Keven Walley (Pico Rivera, Calif.) followed by an Emmanuel error lifted the visitors to a 23-21 cushion. The Saints responded with back-to-back kills to even the score at 23-all but a kill from junior outside hitters Florentino Escovedo (Fresno, Calif.) and Joey Dighton (Riverside, Calif.) ended the frame at 25-23 in favor of the SVC. After hitting .000 as a team in the first set, the Mountaineers rebounded to hit .310 as a team in the second set win.

In the third set, the squads traded points early with the Saints holding a 6-4 lead following a service error by SVC. A Whitermore killed made it 10-5 and the Mountaineers burned their first timeout.  An ace from sophomore setter Kevin Gallegos (Los Angeles, Calif.) made it 14-6 but Southern Vermont would remain within striking distance with an ace from Walley pulled them to 15-10. Following an EC timeout, Jackson and Whitermore put together a string of kills to help the hosts regain moment en route to a 25-16 win. The Saints hit .737 on the frame, connecting on 15 kills on 19 attempts with just one error.

Following an Emmanuel hitting error, the Mountaineers held an early 4-2 advantage in set four but EC regained the lead at 11-10 following a kill from Cooper at the net. A kill from Austin Cockerill (Darien, Conn.) made it 14-12 in favor of the hosts before two SVC kills and a pair of EC hitting errors helped Southern Vermont pull ahead 16-14. A Jackson ace evened the game at 16-all before a Mountaineer hitting error gave Emmanuel the lead for good. Cooper would end the match with a kill for the 25-19 win.

Whitermore ended with a match-high 13 kills, hitting .455 to go along with four aces. Jackson, Cockerill and Cooper all added nine kills while Gallegos ran the balanced offense with a career-high 42 assists.

Fitzgerald paced the Mountaineers with 12 kills while Walley added 11. Ayala produced 36 assists while Escovedo recorded a game-high 11 digs.

Emmanuel is idle until February 2 when they play host to New York University at 1:00 PM while Southern Vermont heads to the SUNYIT Invitational next weekend with Saturday matches against SUNYIT and Keuka.