Blazers Put Together Complete Performance Against SVC

CHICOPEE, Mass. – The Elms College men's volleyball team was sharp in every phase of the game in a convincing 3-0 New England Collegiate Conference win over Southern Vermont on Tuesday evening.

The Blazers improved to 16-6 overall and 8-2 in NECC play after hitting .409, delivering 12 service aces, nine total blocks and owning a 37-19 advantage in digs over the Mountaineers (0-18, 0-10 NECC). Elms won by scores of 25-5, 25-12, and 25-10.

Jake Johnson (Warwick, R.I.) was on fire for the Blazers, hitting .900 with nine kills on 10 attempts. Nik Bates (Hampden, Mass.) added seven kills and a .600 hitting percentage for Elms. John Dunphy (Farmington, Conn.) racked up 18 assists, six aces and a solo block for Elms, and Kahlil Peters (Hartford, Conn.) added another 12 helpers for Elms. David Hernandez (Manati, P.R.) finished with a team-high 10 digs and Manuel Savalza (Riverside, Calif.) added eight.

Te Hayward (Baltimore, Md.) led SVC with four kills and Isaiah Backels (Derry, N.H.) finished with five digs and five assists. Elms held the Mountaineers to a -.211 hitting percentage in the contest.

The Blazers visit Lesley on Wednesday at 8:00 p.m. before wrapping up the regular season at Newbury on April 7 at 1:00 p.m. Elms is locked into the No. 2 spot in the NECC, and will host an NECC semifinal contest on April 13. Southern Vermont will face Lesley twice on April 7 to wrap up the season.