VOLLEYBALL CLOSES OUT REGULAR SEASON WITH SPLIT AT JWU
Providence, R.I. – The Johnson & Wales University men’s volleyball team swept a Great Northeast Athletic Conference tri-match with Mount Ida and Emmanuel at the Wildcat Center on Saturday afternoon. The two wins puts JWU at 19 on the year, tying the record for wins in a season set in the 2005-06 campaign. With the sweep Johnson & Wales is now 19-10 overall and 11-5 in the GNAC. Emmanuel moves to 16-11 and 11-5 in the GNAC, while Mount Ida falls to 8-21 overall and 2-14 in conference play.
Providence, R.I. – The Johnson & Wales University men's volleyball team swept a Great Northeast Athletic Conference tri-match with Mount Ida and Emmanuel at the Wildcat Center on Saturday afternoon. The two wins puts JWU at 19 on the year, tying the record for wins in a season set in the 2005-06 campaign. With the sweep Johnson & Wales is now 19-10 overall and 11-5 in the GNAC. Emmanuel moves to 16-11 and 11-5 in the GNAC, while Mount Ida falls to 8-21 overall and 2-14 in conference play.
Johnson & Wales seniors Henrique DeBrito (La Romana, Dominican Republic), Josh Hettrick (Madison, Conn.), Alex Viera (Bay Shore, N.Y.), Dan Struebing (Coventry, R.I.) and Shawn Kennedy (West Barnstable, Mass.) were honored in a ceremony prior to the day's activities.
JWU opened the day with a 3-0 (25-18, 25-16, 25-19) victory over Mount Ida. In the second match of the day, Emmanuel posted a 3-0 (25-15, 25-14, 25-10) win against Mount Ida. JWU then closed out the day with a thrilling 3-2 (25-18, 16-25, 25-22, 19-25, 15-10) win over Emmanuel.
In the opener against Mount Ida, Kennedy became the JWU all-time leader in kills when he tallied 16 to go with three blocks and three service aces. DeBrito added five kills and six blocks while junior J.J. Bessette (Coventry, R.I.) had 31 set assists for the Wildcats. Viera notched a match high eight digs in the victory. Mount Ida was paced by sophomore Brady Rodriguez (Longwood, Fla.) with six kills, 10 set assists and four digs while senior Nick Schibi (Torrington, Conn.) had four kills in the setback for the Mustangs.
The middle match saw Emmanuel junior Wyatt Cooper (Ridgefield, Conn.) with a match-high nine kills, while sophomore Drew Jordan (Braintree, Mass.) had seven kills, two digs and two blocks in the victory. Junior Sean Baxley (Saint James, N.Y.) tallied 26 set assists with three kills for the Saints. Rodriguez had six kills, nine set assists and two blocks for Mount Ida while sophomore James Ames (West Hartford, Conn.) notched four kills and three digs in the loss.
In the nightcap win over Emmanuel, Johnson & Wales was led by sophomore Ryan Kennedy (West Barnstable, Mass.) with 14 kills and five digs, while fellow sophomore Kyle Eva (Charlestown, R.I.) had 12 kills and two blocks in the win for the Wildcats. Shawn Kennedy narrowly missed a double-double with11 kills and nine digs while Bessette tallied 46 set assists and six digs in the victory. Junior Ashanti Jackson (Sacramento, Calif.) led the way for Emmanuel with 16 kills, six digs and two blocks while junior Zach Whitermore (Whitehall, Pa.) had a double-double with 13 kills and 10 digs in the setback for the Saints. Junior Sean Baxley (St. James, N.Y.) notched 49 set assists for Emmanuel.
Emmanuel will return to action on Tuesday, April 8th, when the Saints host the quarterfinals of the GNAC Tournament, starting at 7:00 p.m.
- Courtesy of Johnson & Wales University Sports Information