VOLLEYBALL TEAM SWEEPS NEWBURY; DROPS MATCH TO MIT
March 17, 2012
BROOKLINE, Mass. - The Emmanuel College Saints played in their first contests in over two weeks, competing in a non-conference tri-match at Hellenic College on Saturday afternoon. Emmanuel suffered a 3-1 loss to 7th-ranked MIT, before sweeping the host Nighthawks of Newbury College, 3-0. With the split, the Saints now stand at 7-9 on the season.
In the afternoon's opening match, the Engineers topped Newbury, 3-1. Then, similar to the first match of the day, MIT got off to a slow start against Emmanuel. Sparked by two monstrous kills in the early-going from Emmanuel freshman Ashanti Jackson (Sacramento, Calif.), the Saints took a commanding, 10-6 lead and appeared as if they were going to take the first set with ease. However, the Engineers were not going to be denied, mounting a 10-4 run to take the 16-14 lead and turned the game into a barn-burner.
Moments after the Saints re-gained the lead, junior setter Nick Updike forced MIT Head Coach Paul Dill to call his first timeout with a kill that put Emmanuel up by two, 18-16. The Saints did not look back as freshman outside hitter Zach Whitermore (Whitehall, Penn.) claimed the 25-22 set victory with a smash.
The Engineers then adjusted, taking set two by the same score (25-22). From there it was all MIT as Siebert registered a double-double, tallying 13 kills and 13 defensive digs in addition to his four total blocks. Thomas followed up notching 11 kills to finish with 26 on the afternoon, in addition to recording an outstanding .489 hitting percentage en route to the 3-1 victory.
Jackson led three Saints in double figures, tallying 13 kills. Whitermore followed up with 10 kills, while senior outside hitter Tom McCaffrey (Massapequa, N.Y.) hit .615 with 10 kills in 13 swings to go along with his match-high five total blocks. Updike handed out 39 assists, while Jackson led the defense with 9 digs in the match.
The Saints rebounded in the third match, cruising to a 3-0 sweep of Newbury. The Nighthawks got strong play from Chris Chin, who was nearly perfect in the first set, recording four, of his match-high eight kills. It was not enough, however, as senior Alexander Petty (Wayland, Mass.) led the Saints by hitting .667 with 9 kills in 12 total attacks. Jackson added six kills and 9 digs, while Updike recorded 25 assists. As a team, the Saints hit .328 (31-10-64) for the match.
Franks continued to improve with each set for Newbury. The Long Island native followed up Chin recording seven kills with one error for an impressive .462 attack percentage.
The two losses drop Newbury to 4-9 on the season. No. 7 MIT improves to 19-6 and Emmanuel jumps to 7-9 with the split. Emmanuel will return to the court on Tuesday night, when the Saints host Mount Ida College in Great Northeast Athletic Conference action. The match is scheduled to begin at 7:00PM.
- Courtesy of Newbury College Sports Information