EMMANUEL SWEEPS JWU, 3-0
March 15, 2011
BOSTON, Mass. - The 12th-ranked Emmanuel Men's Volleyball Team cruised to a 3-0 win over Johnson & Wales University on Tuesday night in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) match played in the Jean Yawkey Center. The win boosted the Saints to 23-6 on the season and 11-1 in GNAC play, while the Wildcats dropped to 6-9 overall and 3-5 in the league.
The two teams played evenly early in the first set and a solo block by Dan Struebing (Coventry, R.I.) forged a tie at 5-all. A JWU kill by Eric Minnich (Concord, Calif.) put the Wildcats up, 10-9. The Saints then battled to a 16-13 lead and a kill by Nick Updike forced a JWU timeout. Out of the timeout, Mike DelSignore (Narragansett, R.I.) served off an ace to put the Saints up four. A left side smash by Curtis Abram (San Luis Obispo, Calif.) kept the four-point Emmanuel edge at 20-16. A kill by Thomas McCaffrey (Massapequa, N.Y.) gave the Saints set point and Abram ended it with an ace at 25-19.
Three Abram aces and a kill by McCaffrey gave EC an early 9-3 lead in set two and forced a quick JWU timeout. Consecutive kills by Keoni Rabaino (Tucson, Ariz.) put the Saints up, 12-6 and a right side swing by Matt Salvi (Trumbull, Conn.) set the score at 15-9. JWU rookie setter Gerard Daniels (Miami, Fla.) served off a couple points to bring the spread to 19-12 in favor of the hosts. Rabaino drilled on down the line and Salvi and Cam Todd (Los Angeles, Calif.) combined for a huge block to force set point. Game two ended on a defensive error by the Wildcats and EC came away with a 25-15 win and held a 2-0 lead in the match.
Consecutive right side kills by Salvi gave Emmanuel an early 10-6 lead in the third set. The Wildcats began to chip away and a kill by Petar Yanakiev (Varna, Bulgaria) cut the JWU deficit to 17-15. An ensuing 4-2 run by the Saints, featuring a McCaffrey block, gave Emmanuel a 21-17 lead. Another ace by Abram ended the set at 25-19 and Emmanuel pulled off the 3-0 victory.
Abram led Emmanuel's offense with 9 kills and 7 aces. Salvi added 8 kills and 3 blocks. McCaffrey and Rabaino notched 6 kills apiece. Sean O'Connor (Hampstead, N.H.) and Updike combined for 37 assists. Jake DeLuise (Wakefield, R.I.) and McCaffrey led the Emmanuel defense with 7 digs and 6 blocks, respectively.
JWU was led by Yanakiev's 9 kills and 3 blocks. Struebing added 5 kills and 3 blocks, while Daniels dished out 25 assists and tallied 3 blocks of his own.
Emmanuel will play at home again on Thursday night (3/17), when the Saints host the Leopards of Wentworth Institute of Technology in a 7pm start.