VOLLEYBALL TEAM GOES 3-1 AT HAWKS INVITATIONAL
Jan. 23, 2011
NEW PALTZ, N.Y. - The 14th-ranked Emmanuel College Men's Volleyball Team went 3-1 at the SUNY New Paltz Hawks Invitational over the weekend. This was the Saints' best finish in Emmanuel's three-year history at the highly competitive New Paltz Tournament. Emmanuel opened the weekend with back-to-back three set sweeps of Elms College and host New Paltz on Saturday evening. The Saints then downed 7th-ranked Baruch College, 3-0, on Sunday morning, before falling to 8th-ranked MIT, 3-1, in the final match of the tournament.
The Saints' opening match on Saturday featured a 3-0 win over Elms College with set scores of: 25-18, 25-12, 25-18. Senior outside hitter Curtis Abram (San Luis Obispo, Calif.) led Emmanuel with a double-double performance of 11 kills and a new Emmanuel program-record 10 service aces. Classmate Keoni Rabaino (Tucson, Ariz.) hit .500 with 7 kills in 12 swings. Thomas McCaffrey (Massapequa, N.Y.) tallied 5 kills, 5 aces and a team-high 5 blocks, while sophomore setter Nick Updike dished out 24 assists in the win.
In the Saints' second match of the tournament, Emmanuel topped host New Paltz, 3-0, with scores of 25-17, 25-23, 25-21. Emmanuel's offense was dominant, as the Saints hit .346 as a team. Abram led the way with 12 kills and 8 digs. McCaffrey totaled 10 kills and 3 blocks, while Rabaino hit .667 with 8 kills for the Saints. Updike dished out 35 assists to go along with his 6 kills and 5 digs. Sophomore Alex McKeen (Stoughton, Mass.) chipped in with 6 kills in the win.
With a 2-0 start to the weekend, the 14th-ranked Saints then swept 7th-ranked Baruch on Sunday morning in three hard fought sets, 25-22, 32-30, 26-24. Abram notched a match-high 19 kills, hitting .457, to go along with 8 digs and 3 blocks. Rabaino posted 10 kills and 6 digs. Updike's solid performance consisted of 37 assists, 9 digs, 4 kills and 2 aces.
The Saints then faced the 8th-ranked Engineers of MIT (8-1), who handed Emmanuel its first loss of the 2011 season, 3-1. After a 29-27 loss in the opening set, the Saints rebounded to take set two, 25-21. The Engineers pulled out sets three and four, 25-21, 25-14, to take the 3-1 match win and the tournament championship. Abram again posted a match-high in kills with 18, while also collecting 9 digs and serving up 3 aces. McCaffrey hit .391 with 12 kills in 23 total swings. Senior middle Cam Todd (Los Angeles, Calif.) recorded 9 kills and a team-high 4 blocks. Updike dished out a season-high 40 assists in the effort.
Abram received All-Tournament Team honors for his four-match tournament effort. Also named to the All-Tournament Team were Jack McKee from Baruch, Stephen Cameron from Elms, Kevin Stross from New Paltz, Ken Siebert from MIT and Matt Hohenberger from MIT, who was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player.
Emmanuel is now 4-1 on the season and 1-0 in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) play. The Saints will travel to Providence, Rhode Island on Tuesday night to take on the Wildcats of Johnson & Wales University (1-1, 1-1 GNAC) in a conference battle slated to begin at 7:00pm.