MEN'S VOLLEYBALL REGAINS FORM WITH 3-0 WIN OVER UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAVEN
Jan. 29, 2011
The Emmanuel College men's volleyball team regained its footing after Friday night's defeat to Springfield College with a victory over the University of New Haven in the first of two matches on Saturday at the Jean Yawkey Center in Boston, Mass. The win gives the Saints a 6-2 record for the year while the Chargers fell to 0-1.
The Saints jumped out to a quick 6-0 lead thanks to terrific serving by senior Curtis Abram (San Luis Obispo, Calif.) The Chargers cut the lead in half, however, with a kill by sophomore Xavier Atienzar (Monroe, Conn.) and solid digs by libero Matthew Halewski (Henrietta, N.Y.). Despite a few mental lapses in play, Emmanuel extended its lead to 11-10 before Head Coach Adam Martel called his team's first timeout.
The two teams kept the match close, with the Saints grabbing an 18-14 edge in the first. Senior Tyson Rietz (Granite Bay, Calif.) proceeded to blast an ace for the hosts while Abram added another kill to his stat line. Senior Thomas McCaffrey (Massapequa, N.Y.) followed his classmate with a strong kill to push the Saints to a 23-15 lead. A final kill by sophomore Nick Updike two points later gave the Saints a 1-0 lead in sets for the match.
Riding the back of solid all-around play as well as another ace by Rietz, the Saints grabbed a quick 7-2 lead in the second set. New Haven got a powerful kill by junior Ryan Earl (Greenville, N.Y.) but Emmanuel senior Sean O'Connor (Hampstead, N.H.) tallied an ace the just clipped the line to give Emmanuel a 16-5 lead in the set.
New Haven senior Gregg Brisbin (Laurel Springs, N.J.) tried to help his club regain its momentum from the first set with cross-court winner for the Chargers which cut the Saints' lead to 10 at 19-9. Again, Emmanuel would hold its course steady and win the second set, 25-15.
The Saints took a 6-1 lead in the third set before the visitors called a timeout to strategize. Brisbin found another kill off a feed from Earl for the Chargers, but once again it was Abram from the left side who blasted another point for the home team and gave Emmanuel an 11-4 edge. Reitz continued to deliver excellent serves for the Saints while O'Connor and sophomore Zachary Caron (Hope, R.I) teamed up for a kill to give Emmanuel a 21-11 lead in the third set. The Saints would hold on to the lead and win the final set, 25-13.
The Saints were led by Reitz's 10 kills on the day with senior Keoni Rabaino (Tucson, Ariz.) adding nine for the Saints.
Emmanuel will host Vassar College in the day's final match at 3:00 p.m.