Men’s Volleyball Outlasted By Daniel Webster, 3-0
Men’s Volleyball Outlasted By Daniel Webster, 3-0
Box
Score
CHICOPEE, Mass. – Elms College sophomore
setter Mike Martin (Enfield, Conn.) dished out a
match-high 36 assists, but Daniel Webster College received a
19-kill effort from Chris Shannon (Ronkonkoma,
N.Y.) to help pace the Eagles to a 3-0 (33-31, 31-29,
30-23) sweep of the Blazers in Monday evening’s North East
Collegiate Volleyball Association (NECVA) New England Division and
New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) men’s volleyball
match at Picknelly Arena.
With the loss, Elms moves to 4-9 overall, 4-5 NECVA, 3-3 NECC,
while Daniel Webster improves to 3-3 on the season, 3-2 NECVA, 2-1
NECC.
Trailing 26-21 in the opening set, Elms’ sophomore opposite
hitter Mike Kleckner (Bethlehem, Pa.) drilled a
pair of kills and the Blazers used an Eagles’ service error
and an attacking error to score four of the next six points to pull
to within two at 27-25. Shannon downed a kill to give Daniel
Webster a 28-25 lead before Martin and sophomore outside hitter
Yonalvy Acosta (Holyoke, Mass.) each smashed kills
and the Eagles committed an attacking error to knot the score at
28-28. The sides played to three more ties before Shannon rose up
for a block, and Andrew Smith (Essex Junction,
V.T.) delivered an ace to break a 31-31 stalemate and give
Daniel Webster a 1-0 lead in the contest.
The Eagles flew out of the gate in the second frame, building a
19-11 lead before Elms stormed back, scoring 10 of the next 12
points on the strength of two kills each from Acosta and junior
outside hitter Mike Ryan (Ludlow, Mass.), an ace
from Kleckner, Ryan, and sophomore outside hitter Juan
Carlos Salmeron (Springfield, Mass.), and three Daniel
Webster miscues to even the stanza at 21-21.
Elms posted a 28-24 lead before three consecutive errors allowed
the Eagles to pull to within one at 28-27. Ryan downed a kill to
give Elms a 29-27 lead but a kill by Elson Abotsi
(Pawtucket, R.I.) and an attacking error by the Blazers
sent the set to its third tie at 29-29. Daniel Webster then claimed
the set on a pair of Elms' miscues to stake a 2-0 lead in the
match.
In the third frame, Daniel Webster established a 21-14 lead before
the Blazers scored six of the next eight points to narrow the gap
to three at 23-20. Kills by Martin and freshman outside hitter
Stephen Cameron (Newington, Conn.) got Elms to
within three at 26-23, before two Shannon kills, a solo block by
Justin Masse (Hudson, N.H.) and a service ace by
Sean Rogers (Union, N.Y.) sealed the contest for
the Eagles.
Kleckner finished with 10 kills, while Ryan downed nine in the
losing effort. Ryan and Kleckner also paced the Blazers’
defensive effort, tallying 14 digs apiece. Acosta added 12 digs,
while Cameron and Salmeron chipped in nine each.
Salmeron and Kleckner combined for seven of the squad’s nine
aces in the loss.
Eric Smith (Clay, N.Y.) added eight kills and 13
assists in the match, while Kyle Clement (Weymouth,
Mass.) handed out a team-best 15 helpers in the winning
effort. Eric Smith and Masse finished with 11 digs each, while
Shannon and Clement added nine each.
Masse led Daniel Webster at the net, totaling two solo blocks and
assisting on two others as the Eagles out-blocked Elms 9.0-0.0.
Elms returns to action on beginning on Friday, Feb. 19-20 at the
Vassar College Invitational.
