VOLLEYBALL TEAM WRAPS REGULAR SEASON WITH TRI-MATCH SWEEP

NEWTON, Mass. – The Emmanuel College Men's Volleyball Team clinched the right to a home match in the upcoming Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Tournament by sweeping a conference tri-match to close out the regular season.  The Saints rolled to 3-1 wins over both Johnson & Wales University and host Mount Ida College on Saturday afternoon.  With the pair of victories, Emmanuel finished regular season play at 10-11 overall and in fourth place in the GNAC standings at 8-6 among conference opponents.

The Saints opened the day with a 3-1 (25-16, 25-19, 21-25, 27-25) win over Johnson & Wales to edge out the Wildcats for the No. 4 seed in the post-season tournament.  Emmanuel then followed that up with a 3-1 (25-19, 16-25, 25-16, 25-14) win over Mount Ida.

As a team, the Saints combined to hit .339 to overpower the Wildcats in their first match of the afternoon.  Junior Barrett Wingard (York, Pa.) led the way with a season-high 20 kills in 37 swings, hitting .434 for the match.  Senior captain Ashanti Jackson (Sacramento, Calif.) hit .367 with 17 kills in 30 swings, while senior Austin Cockerill (Darien, Conn.) swung at a clip of .429 with 11 kills in 21 attempts.  Senior setter Sean Baxley (Saint James, N.Y.) posted a double-double of 47 assists with 10 digs, while junior libero Kevin Gallegos (Los Angeles, Calif.) tallied a team-high 11 digs in the win for EC.

Cockerill led the attack in the win over the Mustangs slamming down nine kills, while Jackson and Wingard added seven apiece.  Wingard also tallied four aces, while Baxley handed out 28 assists.  Senior Cody Diehl (Derry, N.H.) gathered a match-high 12 digs to lead the Saints' backrow.

With the crucial GNAC sweep, the Saints have secured the No. 4 seed and will now host a GNAC Tournament quarterfinal match this Tuesday night, April 7th.  Emmanuel will square off with No. 5 Johnson & Wales University in a 7:00 PM start in the Jean Yawkey Center.