Saints Fall in First Set, Win Next Three to Defeat Eastern Nazarene

BOSTON – Eastern Nazarene (6-4) took the first set, but Saints Men's Volleyball (5-5) battled back to take the next three and earn a 3-1 (22-25, 25-21, 25-21, 30-28) nonconference victory Wednesday night on Andy Yosinoff Court. The Lions were able to fight off four fourth set match points before a Saints block secured the 3-1 win.

The two sides traded points in the early going, but with the Lions holding a 9-8 advantage, the visitors extended their lead through a 9-3 run. The Saints responded with a 5-1 run of their own to cut the deficit to just three points. Eastern Nazarene was able to cut off the Saints run, never leading by less than three points for the remainder of the set and earning a 25-22 first set victory.

Eastern Nazarene remained in control of the match midway into the second set, building a 13-7 lead after an Emmanuel service error. A 6-1 run from the home team cut the lead to just a point capitalized by a huge kill from Jyles Amirault (Andover, Mass.). After back-to-back scores from the Lions, the Saints erupted on yet another run, this time 8-1, to take a 21-17 advantage. Emmanuel went on to level the match 1-1 with a 25-21 second set win.

With the Saints holding an 11-7 lead in the third set, a 6-1 run from the Lions gave the visitors the lead. The two sides would continue to trade points, and with a 20-19 Emmanuel advantage, the Saints won four consecutive points through kills from Amirault, Trey Guest (Newington, Conn.), and Aidan McGowan (Marston Mills, Mass.). The Saints went on to take the set 25-21 and a match lead of 2-1.

Emmanuel jumped out to an early advantage in the fourth set, winning six of the first seven points to build a commanding lead. Eastern Nazarene, once again, responded with a run of their own by winning eight of the next eleven points to tie the set at 9-9. Neither side led by more than two points throughout the remainder of the match. The Lions fought off four match points, but a block from McGowen and Guest ultimately secured a 29-27 fourth set victory and a 3-1 win for Emmanuel.

Alejandro Garcia Fernandez (San Juan, P.R.) led Eastern Nazarene with 20 kills. Aaron Huang (Quincy, Mass.) contributed 40 assists in the loss. For the Saints, Michael Shelley (San Francisco, Calif.) led the way with a match-leading 27 kills. Dominic DeFerrari (Miami, Fla.) finished with 46 assists and Trey Guest added 12 digs in the win.

Up next, Eastern Nazarene will host a tri-match on Saturday (1/17) with Emerson and American International with matches scheduled for 12:00 P.M. and 4:00 P.M. Emmanuel will return to Andy Yosinoff Court on Saturday (1/17) for a GNAC matchup with Regis at 12:00 P.M.