VOLLEYBALL TEAM CAPTURES 5TH-STRAIGHT SWEEP
Feb. 23, 2011
NEWTON, Mass. - The Emmanuel Men's Volleyball Team nabbed its fifth-straight 3-0 sweep, defeating Mount Ida College on Wednesday night in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) match. The dominating Saints improved to 18-4 overall and 8-1 in the conference, sitting at 2nd place in the league standings, as they topped the host Mustangs by scores of 25-14, 25-22, and 25-16. The Mustangs bow to an overall record of 3-10 and drop to 1-7 in conference competition.
Emmanuel jumped out to a 4-1 advantage in the opening of the match following a Mustang error. Mount Ida pulled within one point (4-3) after an impressive save by Mustang senior Shane Wilson (Gloucester, Mass.) that turned into a Ricky Oliveira (New Bedford, Mass.) kill. The visitors proceeded to power a 6-0 run, taking a 10-3 advantage, after two consecutive service aces by Saint senior Curtis Abram (San Luis Obispo, Calif.). Mount Ida pulled within three points, down 12-9, capped on a solo block by Mustang sophomore Spencer Hastings (Orlando, Fla.). The visitors went on to mount a 13-5 run to finish off game one winning, 25-14, and to take a 1-0 match lead.
Mount Ida came out in game two taking a 7-6 edge after two consecutive kills by Hastings. The host advantage did not last long, as the visitors came back scoring the next three points, up 9-8 following a solo block by sophomore Nick Updike. Although the Mustangs tied the score at 9-9 after a solo block by Hastings, the Saints maintained a small lead up 17-13 after a Mount Ida error. The Mustangs pulled within one point after a service ace by Emmanuel, trailing 20-19. The hosts kept it close with only two points separating the teams throughout the last couple of rallies. However, the visitors captured the 25-22 game two win on a solo block by senior Keoni Rabaino (Tucson, Ariz.) to lead 2-0 in the match.
Game three was all about the Saints who went ahead 6-1 following another kill by Abram. The Mustangs cut the advantage down to four points trailing 10-6 after an error by the visitors. Emmanuel maintained their small margin following a 7-3 run to go ahead 17-9 after a kill by senior Matt Salvi (Trumbull, Conn.). The Saints eventually closed out game three scoring eight out of 14 points and capturing a 25-16 win, which was good for a 3-0 GNAC match sweep.
Emmanuel will travel to Lasell College on Friday night to take on the Lasers in a 7pm start. The Mustangs will travel to Bard College for a weekend tournament beginning on Friday.
- Courtesy of Mount Ida College Sports Information