MEN'S VOLLEYBALL TAKES 2ND AT ENDICOTT INVITATIONAL
Feb. 13, 2011
BEVERLY, Mass. - The 12th-ranked Emmanuel Men's Volleyball Team traveled north to Endicott College to compete in the highly competitive Endicott Invitational Tournament over the weekend. The Saints cruised to 3-0 sweeps over Hunter College and host Endicott College on Saturday. Emmanuel then upended 7th-ranked MIT, 3-0, on Sunday morning, before falling to 13th-ranked Baruch, 3-1, in the tournament championship match. The Saints finished in 2nd place behind Baruch in the 10- team tournament and improved to 13-4 on the season.
Emmanuel opened the invitational with a convincing 3-0 win over Hunter College (25-18, 25-17, 25-21). Senior outside hitter Curtis Abram (San Luis Obispo, Calif.) led the Saints with 13 kills and 6 digs, while classmate Tyson Rietz (Granite Bay, Calif.) served off 5 aces in the win. Braien Otsla (Brooklyn, N.Y.) paced Hunter's offensive attack with eleven kills while junior Eric Barty (Jamaica, N.Y.) added nine of his own.
The Saints then took a deciding 3-0 win over the host Endicott Gulls, winning, 25-13, 25-21, 25-21, in the five o'clock match on Friday night. Abram registered a .450 hitting percentage with 10 kills and only one error, while also serving up 6 aces to lead Emmanuel. Rietz tallied nine kills and Cam Todd (Los Angeles, Calif.) added six kills in the win. Setter Nick Updike did a little bit of everything with 31 assists, five kills and three aces. The Saints notched 10 team blocks with Todd totaling six assisted blocks and Rietz having two solo and one assisted block. Rietz also had a team-high seven digs.
Sunday morning began with the Saints taking care of MIT in straight sets, 25-17, 25-14, 25-19, after dropping a four-set decision to the Engineers earlier in the season. Abram hammered down 10 kills for the Saints, while Matt Salvi (Trumbull, Conn.) added 6 kills and Thomas McCaffrey (Massapequa, N.Y.) totaled 3 solo blocks in the win. Freshman outside hitter Ken Siebert (St. Louis, Mo.) logged eight kills while All-Tournament selection Tim Lee (Natick, Mass.) added 20 assists and nine digs for MIT. The Engineers had enjoyed a 2-0 day on Saturday before opening Sunday with the loss.
The Saints then advanced to the Invitational Championship, facing the 13th-ranked Bearcats of Baruch College, but Emmanuel suffered its only loss of the weekend, going down, 3-1 (25-20, 18-25, 25-19, 25-16). Baruch took the tournament championship, finishing the weekend at 4-0. Pablo Oliveira (Uberlandia, Brazil), who named the tournament's Most Valuable Player, led the way offensively and defensively, registering team highs with 16 kills and four blocks. Jesus Echevarria (San Juan, Puerto Rico) added 39 assists in the win, as the Bearcats improved to 10-9 on the year. Abram's 10 kills and 5 blocks were tops for the Saints, while Salvi added another 6 kills in the setback. Updike, who was solid for the Saints all weekend, dished out over 120 assists in the four matches.
Both Abram and Updike were named to the All-Tournament Team for the Saints. With his 43 kills over the weekend, Curtis Abram became Emmanuel's all-time kills leader, surpassing Michael Townsend's ('10) career total of 1,338 kills.
Emmanuel will return to the court on Tuesday (2/15), when the Saints travel to Emerson College to take on the Lions in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) match.
Endicott Invitational All-Tournament Team:
Baruch, Pablo Oliveira (SR, Uberlandia, Brazil) - MVP
Baruch, Jesus Echevarria (SO, San Juan, Puerto Rico)
Emmanuel, Curtis Abram (SR, San Luis Obispo, Calif.)
Emmanuel, Nick Updike (SO)
MIT, Tim Lee (SR, Natick, Mass.)
Vassar, Evan Fredericksen (SR, Menlo Park, Calif.)
Eastern Mennonite, Chris Moise (SO, Hollywood, Fla.)
Endicott, Andrew Slocum (JR, Burnt Hills, N.Y.)
Hunter, Braien Otsla (SO, Brooklyn, N.Y.)
SUNYIT, Ryan Meller (JR, Eden, N.Y.)
Hilbert, Adam Weaver (FR, Stow, Ohio)
Emerson, Steve Selnick (JR, Cheshire, Conn.)