Men’s Volleyball Outlasted By Daniel Webster, 3-1

Box Score

NASHUA, N.H. – Elms College sophomore opposite hitter Mike Kleckner (Bethlehem, Pa.) smashed a team-high 17 kills, but Daniel Webster College received a triple-double effort from Eric Smith (Clay, N.H.) to help lift the Eagles to a hard-fought 3-1 (21-30, 26-30, 30-27, 23-30) victory over the Blazers in Friday evening’s North East Collegiate Volleyball Association (NECVA) New England Division and New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) men’s volleyball contest in Nashua N.H.

With the loss, Elms slides to 4-16 overall, 4-7 NECVA, 3-4 NECC, while Daniel Webster improves to 5-7 on the season, 5-5 NECVA, 4-2 NECC.

With Daniel Webster leading 2-0 in the match, neither side registered more than a four-point lead in the third set and played to a 25-25 tie before three Eagles’ attacking errors gave Elms a 28-25 advantage. A kill each from Chris Shannon (Ronkonkoma, N.Y.) and Andrew Smith (Essex Junction, Vt.) pulled Daniel Webster to within one at 28-27, but Kleckner terminated a pair of sets from junior setter Mike Ryan (Ludlow, Mass.) to seal the third frame victory for the Blazers.

In the fourth stanza, the Eagles used an early 8-1 run to break a 5-5 tie and take a 13-6 lead in the set. Elms pulled to within three on seven occasions but could get no closer as Daniel Webster scored four of the final five points with the score set at 26-22 to secure the 3-1 victory.

Daniel Webster hit at a .380 clip for the match, including a stellar .438 mark in the third frame and a .387 rate in the fourth set to help seal the victory.

In the opening stanza, Daniel Webster mounted a 25-15 lead before the Blazers stormed back with five unanswered points, highlighted by a kill each from sophomore outside hitter Mike Martin (Enfield, Conn.) and freshman outside hitter Stephen Cameron (Newington, Conn.), an assisted block by Cameron and freshman middle hitter Wilfrido Fermin (Bronx, N.Y.), and a service ace by Martin to cut the deficit in half at 25-20. However, the Eagles were able to use a 5-1 run to close out the set and take a 1-0 lead in the match.

The second set saw the squads battle to six ties and a 16-16 deadlock before the Eagles used a 10-4 run to stake a 26-20 lead. Elms answered with a 4-1 string of its own on the strength of a Fermin kill and three Daniel Webster miscues to pull the Blazers to within three at 27-24. The Eagles extended its lead back to five at 29-24 before Cameron and sophomore outside hitter Yonalvy Acosta (Holyoke, Mass.) blasted back-to-back kills to again bring Elms to within three at 29-26. From there, Eric Smith downed a kill to preserve the set win and give the Eagles a 2-0 lead in the contest.

Cameron and Acosta finished with 12 kills each to round out three Blazers with double-digit kills, while Kleckner and Acosta notched a team-best eight digs each in the losing effort. Ryan paced the Elms offense handing out a match-high 41 assists.

Eric Smith smashed 18 kills, notched 10 digs and distributed 28 assists to complete his triple-double effort, while Shannon delivered a match-high 24 kills to propel the Eagles to victory.

Elson Abotsi (Pawtucket, R.I.) and David Miller (Eldersburg, Md.) added nine and eight kills respectively, while Kyle Clement (Weymouth, Mass.) dug a match-best 17 balls.

Elms returns to non-conference action on Wednesday, March 10 with a 7:00 p.m. contest at New Haven.