MEN’S VOLLEYBALL NOTCHES FIRST GNAC WIN OVER JWU, 3-0

BOSTON, Mass. – The Emmanuel College men's volleyball team topped Johnson & Wales University, 3-0 (25-19, 25-21, 25-21), Wednesday evening at the Jean Yawkey Center Gymnasium in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference opener for both squads. The Saints improve to 3-2 overall and 1-0 in GNAC action while the loss drops the Wildcats to 6-3 and 0-1.

In the opening set, EC jumped out to a 4-0 lead following a Drew Jordan (Braintree, Mass.) kill and extended the lead to 8-1 after a tandem block from juniors Ashanti Jackson (Sacramento, Calif.) and Wyatt Copper (Ridgefield, Conn.). Back-to-back kills from JWU outside hitter Kyle MacKnight (Northport, N.Y.) cut the lead to 9-4 but the early deficit was too much for the Wildcats to overcome as the Saints captured the first set, 25-19.

The Wildcats regrouped to take a quick 3-0 lead in set two following two EC hitting errors. Three more Emmanuel service errors would account for a 7-4 score in favor of JWU but the Saints calmed down behind Jackson's service game to even the score at 7-7. Junior setter Sean Baxley (Saint James, N.Y.) helped Emmanuel take the lead for good with an ace to make it 11-8. A solo block from Cooper extended the hosts lead to 15-9 but Johnson & Wales kept the action close with a kill from sophomore middle Kyle Eva (Charlestown, Mass.) to make it 16-12. The Wildcats got as close as 17-15 after two more EC hitting miscues but the Saints made sure to finish the set strong, winning 25-21.

The Saints raced out to a 3-0 lead in set three on a put-back kill from Cooper but the Wildcats used four EC errors to even the score at 5-5. A solo block from Eva pulled JWU ahead, 7-6, before EC regained the lead at 8-7 on a Jackson kill. Leading 10-9, EC reeled off five consecutive points to make it 15-9 forcing the visitors to burn a timeout. The run continued out of the stoppage as EC extended its lead to 17-9 following another Cooper winner. The Wildcats pulled to within two at 22-20 but the Saints would hang on for the 25-21 victory in set three to secure their first GNAC win of the season.

For JWU, MacKnight finished with seven kills to match teammate Shawn Kennedy (West Barnstable, Mass.) for the team high. Senior setter J.J. Bessette (Coventry, R.I.) recorded 24 assists to go along with five digs.

For EC, Jackson led all players with 10 kills and 14 digs while Cooper chipped in with eight kills and four blocks. Baxley dished out 28 assists to go along with four aces in the win.

Emmanuel returns to action on Friday evening when they head to Newton, Mass. to take on Lasell College at 7:00 PM in more GNAC action. JWU heads to Springfield, Mass. on Saturday for the Springfield College Invitational in which they open against the hosts at 4:30 PM.