Rainey, Russell Garner NECC Weekly Awards

ATTLEBORO, Mass. – Elms College junior middle hitter Bryson Rainey (Brookline, Mass.) was named the New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) Player of the Week for men’s volleyball and senior pitcher John Russell (Springfield, Mass.) was named NECC Pitcher of the Week for baseball as announced by the league on Monday.

Rainey earned his second NECC Player of the Week award following a 1-1 week to end the regular season. Rainey smashed a team-high 18 kills in a 3-2 win over Southern Vermont, and a team-best 15 kills in a 3-1 loss to Daniel Webster during Elms' final two regular season matches to total 33 kills on 58 swings with just seven errors to hit at a superb .448 clip for the week. He added a service ace, 19 total digs (2.11 per set) and four total blocks.

Russell was named NECC Pitcher of the Week for the first time this season. Russell was terrific on the hill in the first game of a double-header against NECC rival Newbury College, tossing a complete game over seven innings, allowing just one unearned run on four hits while striking out three batters to earn the win highlighted by a 1-2-3 fifth frame. The Blazers swept the Nighthawks with wins of 4-1, 13-3 and 10-5 during the weekend.