Men's Volleyball Sweeps Dean To Move to 5-1 In NECC Play

CHICOPEE, Mass. – The Elms College men's volleyball team overwhelmed Dean in the first set and cruised to a 3-0 win in New England Collegiate Conference play on Saturday afternoon.

The Blazers (13-4, 5-1 NECC) hit an unprecedented .923 with 12 kills on 13 attempts in the 25-6 first set victory. The Bulldogs (9-8, 4-3 NECC) were out-matched in the set, committing six errors with four kills for a -.105 hitting percentage.

The Blazers came back to Earth for the second and third sets, hitting .280 and .385 en route to 25-16 and 25-20 wins for their fifth win in six matches. It was Elms' eighth three-set win of the season.

Elms freshman Jeremy Torres (Juncos, P.R.) led the way with 12 kills, six digs, four blocks and four aces while hitting .579 for the Blazers. Gabriel Levy (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) had six kills on seven attempts for a .857 hitting percentage, and Jake Johnson (Warwick, R.I.) added seven kills and three blocks. Kahlil Peters tallied 21 assists and five digs for the Blazers, and Jovanny Torres added 10 assists and four kills.

Dean was led by Diondre Gomes (Fairhaven, Mass.) who picked up 11 kills. Juan Fernando Ruelas-Garcia (Milford, Mass.) added five kills for the Bulldogs and Bobby Tetreault (Mattapoisett, Mass.) collected 18 assists.

Elms out-hit Dean .453-.091 for the match, and held a 31-13 advantage in digs. The Blazers served up 11 aces and held an 8.0-4.0 lead in total blocks.

Elms will visit Lesley on March 21 at 8:00 p.m. before hosting No. 1 Springfield College on March 22 at 6:00 p.m. Dean will visit Lesley on March 20 at 8:00 p.m.