Endicott College Downs Men’s Volleyball, 3-0

Box Score

CHICOPEE, Mass. – Elms College sophomore middle hitter Bryson Rainey (Brookline, Mass.) downed a team-high nine kills, but a 13-kill effort from Endicott College's Zeke Kubisch (Bethlehem, N.Y.) helped pace the Gulls to a 3-0 (25-22, 25-15, 25-20) sweep of the Blazers in Thursday evening's North East Collegiate Volleyball Association (NECVA) New England Division men's volleyball match at Picknelly Arena.

With the loss, Elms falls to 3-7 overall, 2-3 in NECVA action, while Endicott improves to 4-3 on the season, 3-0 in NECVA play.

In the opening set, Rainey smashed six of his team-high nine kills including a stretch of three straight, and capped the effort with a solo block to set the score at 19-15 in favor of Endicott. Following a service ace from Brandon Chadwick (Chelmsford, Mass.), the Gulls posted a 24-20 lead before a pair of miscues allowed Elms to pull to within two at 24-22. From there, a kill by Matt Devendorf (Glastonbury, Conn.) sealed the set for Endicott.

The Gulls cruised to a 21-11 lead in the second stanza and established a 2-0 lead in the match when Jeremy Siden (Natick, Mass.) downed a kill to give Endicott a 25-15 win.

Trailing 23-17 in the third frame, Rainey downed a kill to pull the Blazers to within five at 23-18 and with Endicott holding a 24-19 lead, a kill by sophomore outside hitter Stephen Cameron (Newington, Conn.) cut Elms' deficit to 24-20, but a Blazers' attacking error allowed the Gulls to preserve the sweep.

Rainey swung at an impressive .429 clip (9K, 3E, 14TA) and added a solo block, while junior middle hitter Yonalvy Acosta (Holyoke, Mass.) collected six kills and three assisted blocks. Freshman setter Daniel Lebron (San Juan, Puerto Rico) dished out 19 assists.

Cameron finished with five kills and a pair of service aces while senior defensive specialist Josh Chagnon (Loudon, N.H.) added three assisted blocks in the losing effort.

Junior outside hitter Michael Martin (Enfield, Conn.) tied for a match-high in digs with seven, while sophomore defensive specialist Brendan Reed (East Longmeadow, Mass.) added six digs for Elms.

Kubisch hit .321 for the match (13K, 4E, 28TA), while Siden hit at a staggering .600 clip, notching six kills on 10 swings with zero errors.

Joshua Bruno (Andover, Mass.) added six kills and two solo blocks, while Jeremy Schlosser (Emmaus, Pa.) handed out a match-best 31 assists.

Elms returns to NECVA New England and New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) action on Thursday, Feb. 10 when it hosts Southern Vermont College at 7:00 p.m. at Picknelly Arena.