Men's Volleyball Upsets No. 11 Rivier, 3-2
MEN'S VOLLEYBALL UPSETS NO. 11 RIVIER, 3-2
CHICOPEE, MA, March 17, 2008 - Elms College freshman opposite hitter Alberto Bravo (Toa Baja, Puerto Rico) slammed down a match-high 27 kills and the Blazers staved off elimination in game four then battled to a thrilling 3-2 (26-30, 30-24, 24-30, 30-28, 15-10) win over No. 11 Rivier College in Monday night's North East Collegiate Volleyball Association (NECVA) New England Division men's volleyball match at the Maguire Center.
Rivier, the nation's 11th ranked team in the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Top 15 Coaches Poll, lost its second straight match overall and fell to 19-9 overall, 9-1 NECVA New England.
The win was the first over nationally-ranked in Elms College's six-year, program-history and also marked the Blazers' first over Rivier in nine all-time meetings.
The Blazers (16-8, 6-2 NECVA), who extended their win streak to four straight, were also victorious for the seventh time in eight matches.
Trailing two games to one, Elms College battled back from a 26-23 deficit in the fourth game to knot the game at 26-all following a kill by freshman outside hitter Carlos DeLeon-Gomez (Carolina, Puerto Rico) and a pair of attack errors by the Raiders.
Sophomore middle hitter Matt Ferreira (Lincoln, RI) responded with a kill to give Rivier a 27-26 lead before Bravo answered on the next serve with a kill to tie the game at 27-27.
Ferreira delivered yet another kill on the next play to reclaim the lead for Rivier, but a kill by junior outside hitter Marc Carrasco (Tucson, AZ), an attack error by the Raiders and a kill by Bravo for the 30th point helped the Blazers post a 30-28 win to send the match to a fifth game.
In the deciding game, Ferreira and freshman outside hitter Jared Andreozzi (Barrington, RI) delivered consecutive kills to give Rivier a quick 2-0 lead.
Elms College, however, rolled off the next five points, including consecutive kills by Bravo, Carrasco and freshman middle blocker Curt Despard (Enfield, CT).
Rivier rallied with a 6-3 run to knot the fifth game at 8-8.
From there, however, DeLeon-Gomez and Bravo combined for three straight kills to extend the Blazers lead to 11-8.
Although Ferreira answered with a kill to cut Rivier's deficit to 11-9, Bravo and DeLeon-Gomez delivered what proved to be the knockout blow for the Blazers, as Bravo delivered kills for the Blazers' 12th and 14th points, and DeLeon-Gomez added a clutch ace for the team's 13th point to give Elms College what proved to be an insurmountable 14-9 advantage.
For the Blazers in the victory, DeLeon Gomez hammered down 19 kills and added a match-high 13 digs, Despard added 16 kills and a match-high nine total blocks, Carrasco delivered 14 kills and a match-high 13 digs.
Sophomore setter Ivan Andujar (Carolina, Puerto Rico) was sensational at the net for the Blazers, as he set a new, five-game program-record with 71 assists on the night to break his previous record of 70 assists set on February 17, 2007 against the City College of New York.
Ferreira and junior middle hitter Scott Wright (Salem, NH) were outstanding in the middle, as the two combined for 44 of Rivier's 74 kills in the match. Ferreira equaled Bravo's match-high 27 assists, while Wright added 17 kills on the night.
Sophomore setter Zach Hansen (Shelton, CT) handed out 67 assists and recorded three blocks for Rivier in the losing effort.
Elms College returns to NECVA New England Division play at Emmanuel on Thursday, March 20. Match time is 8:00 p.m.