MEN'S VOLLEYBALL TALLIES GNAC SPLIT WITH 3-0 WIN OVER EMERSON

THE BASICS

Scores: Emmanuel, 1 | Wentworth, 3
Emmanuel, 3 | Emerson, 0

Records: Emmanuel College Saints (18-7, 7-4 GNAC); Wentworth Institute of Technology Leopards (16-9, 9-2 GNAC), Emerson College Lions (10-10, 2-8 GNAC)

Location: Boston, Mass.- Brown & Plofker Gym

Date: Saturday March 30, 2019

THE LEAD

The Emmanuel College men's volleyball team split with Emerson and Wentworth in GNAC action on Saturday afternoon at Brown & Plofker Gym. The Saints fell to the Leopards in the opener, 3-1, before a strong finish with a 3-0 sweep over Emerson.  

HOW IT HAPPENED (Vs. Emerson)

• Locked at 5-5 to begin the opening frame, Emmanuel broke the scoreless stanza and set off on a 7-2 streak to extend its lead to five over the Lions (12-7). 

• Emerson closed the gap at five, the closest it would come to Emmanuel, midway through the opening set at 15-10 before the Saints wrapped the 25-15 win on a 5-1 streak. 

• The visiting Saints tacked on the second set's first six consecutive points before Emerson was able to get its first point on the board with a swing by Willinger (6-1). 

• Emerson trailed Emmanuel by seven (9-2) and jumped back within four through its next several possessions until the Saints bumped its advantage up to nine at 20-12, eventually taking the second frame by the score 25-16. 

• After the Saints took a 6-3 lead in the beginning of the third, Emerson used two attack errors and a Piorkowski ace to even the score at 6-6. 

• The Lions locked up the score twice more, once at 9-9 and again at 10-10, until they were held at 10 while the Saints tacked on six points for the 16-10 lead. 

• A pair of kills from Piorkowski got Emerson up to 12 as the home team trailed by six (18-12) only to see Emmanuel answer with another streak to push its lead up to nine (21-12). 

• Willinger registered one last kill for the Lions as the Saints took the 25-14 win after they tallied the set's final three points. 

  INSIDE THE NUMBERS 

• Piorkowski led Emerson with 10 kills alongside a pair of aces and eight digs and Raagas dished out 11 assists. 

• Willinger and Piorkowski each powered out three blocks with Connolly and Kittivatcharapong each sending down two blocks apiece. 

• Erik English (Simi Valley, Calif.) racked up 11 kills for Emmanuel followed by a match-high 28 assists from Seamus McDonagh (Long Beach, N.Y.). 

• John Carroll (Massapequa, N.Y.) registered four blocks (one solo and three assists) while Max Gottuso (Long Beach, N.Y.) racked up 10 digs. 

  HOW IT HAPPENED (Vs. WIT)

  Sophomore Peter Klembczyk (Penfield, N.Y.)  backstopped the Leopards to the four-set win against the Saints, and set the single-match digs record with 31 overall. In the Leopards' second elongated set of the week, Zyba opened the frame with back-to-back kills, but Emmanuel later broke a 6-6 tie with a 6-2 run for a 12-8 lead. Wentworth got right back in the game with Zyba on the serve, and turned a 7-2 run of their own to steal the lead 15-14 after a service ace from sophomore David Marsh (Springfield, Mass.). Both teams battled point-for-point with neither taking more than a two-point lead until match point, which ended on two Wentworth errors to give Emmanuel the first set, 37-35. Wentworth went on to win the following three sets after being down 0-1 to start the match, all of which were closely contested by Emmanuel.

  INSIDE THE NUMBERS 

• Klembczyk was joined by junior Ryan Love (Gaithersburg, Md.) in career-high numbers, who registered 23 kills and 10 digs for his third double-double of the season. Classmate Engel also posted a double-double, his fifth of the season, with 11 kills and 11 digs.

• English posted a team-high 15 kills for Emmanuel to go along with 13 digs for a double-double.

• McDonagh (Long Beach, N.Y.) dished out 40 assists.

• Sophomore Mike Kokoros (Braintree, Mass.) also posted a double-double with 14 kills and career-best 13 digs.

• Carroll added 10 kills for the Saints.

  UP NEXT 
  Emmanuel returns to action on Thursday, April 4 when they play host to Rivier University at 7:00 PM. Prior to the start of the match, the Saints will honor seniors Alex Silva (Jamaica Plain, Mass.) and English in a brief senior day ceremony.

  *Release content courtesy of Emerson & WIT Athletic Communications