MEN'S VOLLEYBALL STAYS HOT WITH WINS OVER LASELL & REGIS

THE BASICS:

Score:
Lasell College, 1; Emmanuel College, 3 (21-25, 25-21, 25-18, 25-22)
Regis College, 0; Emmanuel College, 3 (25-13, 31-29, 25-23)

Records: Emmanuel College (14-9, 3-2), Lasell College (9-11, 3-3), Regis College (7-9, 1-5 GNAC)

Location: Weston, Mass- Higgins Court

Date: Saturday, March 16, 2019

THE LEAD: The Emmanuel College men's volleyball team picked up an important GNAC sweep in tri-match action Saturday afternoon against Lasell College and Regis College, posting a 3-1 victories over the Lasers before capping the day with a 3-0 win over the host Pride. 

MATCH 1 - Emmanuel 3, Lasell 1

After dropping the first set, 25-21, Emmanuel rallied to win the next three sets en route to a 3-1 win.

Senior outside hitter Erik English (Simi Valley, Calif.) collected a match-high 14 kills to go along with 10 digs while senior middle hitter Alex Silva (Jamaica Plain, Mass.) added 10 kills and nine total blocks.

Junior setter Seamus McDonagh (Long Beach, N.Y.) chipped in with 39 assists, eight digs and five block assists in the win.

Scott Sterenberg paced the Lasers with 12 kills.

MATCH 2 - Emmanuel 3, Regis 0

Beimel led Regis offensively with 14 kills and a .375 hitting percentage, while Ferrara finished with eight kills, five digs, and two block assists. After Lam collected 10 assists in the first set, Jayson Vega (Ponce, Puerto Rico) took over at setter and accumulated 18 assists, and Zabdiel Frias (Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico) paced the Pride backline with seven digs.

Regis was competitive early in the first set, as a kill by Ferrara gave the Pride a 5-4 lead and one from Beimel tied the set at 7-7. Emmanuel took the lead for good on consecutive kills by Alex Silva, and then, after another kill by Ferrara brought the Pride within three at 16-13, the Saints scored the final nine points of the set, led by three kills from Erik English and two service aces by John Carroll.

Emmanuel (14-9, 3-2 GNAC) scored five straight points early in the second set, led by English with three kills and a service ace. Two kills by Beimel and two service aces from Alves allowed Regis to tie the set at 8-8, but English led a 7-1 Saint run with two kills and a service ace, giving Emmanuel an 18-12 advantage.

Regis quickly responded with a 7-2 scoring run, featuring two Pride blocks that both involved Shawn Gamble (Cranston, R.I.), to close to within one at 20-19. Emmanuel eventually reached set point at 24-21, but the Pride held off the Saints with three straight points, capped by a block from Andreenko and Ferrara, to tie the set at 24-24.

The Saints earned five more chances to close out the set, but the Pride won the ensuing point every time to extend the set. Emmanuel finally finished the job on kills by English and Silva.

The Pride took a 5-2 lead early in the third set on kills by Ferrara and Beimel, but the Saints rebounded with an 8-2 scoring run to take the lead, 10-7. After four straight points extended the Emmanuel advantage to 15-9, Regis put together an 8-2 scoring run, capped by two service aces from Andreenko, to pull into a 17-17 tie.

Emmanuel would score four of the next five points to reestablish a three-point advantage, but Regis once again fought back, as kills by Vega and Andreenko helped close the Pride deficit to one at 23-22. The Saints would complete the sweep on kills by English and Carroll.

English led the Saints with 17 points and three service aces, hitting .414 in the match, while Silva finished with nine kills on a .583 hitting percentage. Seamus McDonagh notched a double-double with 34 assists and a team-high 10 digs, Justyn Schueler finished with seven kills, and Tyler Behsman contributed nine digs for Emmanuel, which next plays at Colby-Sawyer Tuesday, March 19, starting at 7 p.m.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

*English moves into third all-time in career kills at Emmanuel now with 1,096, surpassing John Bluhm '07 in the record books. 

*The Saints have now won four consecutive matches for the second time this season and will look to tie their season-high winning streak of five next week against Colby-Sawyer.

UP NEXT!

Regis (7-9, 1-5 GNAC) returns to action Tuesday, March 19, facing Wentworth in a GNAC contest beginning at 7:00 PM while the Saints head to Colby-Sawyer College the same day for a 7:00 PM GNAC affair.

*Release courtesy of Regis College Athletic Communications