Men’s Volleyball Swept By Endicott College, 3-0

Box Score

BEVERLY, Mass. – Elms College junior outside hitter Yonalvy Acosta (Holyoke, Mass.) downed a team-high seven kills, but a 15-kill effort from Endicott College's Jeremy Siden (Natick, Mass.) helped the Gulls claim a 3-0 (25-19, 25-16, 25-15) sweep in Monday afternoon's North East Collegiate Volleyball Association (NECVA) New England Division men's volleyball match in Beverly, Mass.

With the loss, Elms moves to 8-9 overall, 7-5 in NECVA action, while Endicott improves to 9-8 on the season, 6-2 in NECVA play.

Elms led early in the first set posting a 7-3 lead before Endicott chipped away at the edge and knotted the frame at 15-15 on a kill by Travis Netherton (Waukegan, Ill.). The Gulls then scored five unanswered points highlighted by three service aces from Zeke Kubisch (Bethlehem, N.Y.) and a pair of kills from Siden to give the Gulls a 20-15 lead. A kill by Blazers' junior opposite hitter Michael Kleckner (Bethlehem, Pa.) and two Endicott attacking errors pulled Elms to within two at 21-19, but the Gulls responded with four consecutive points to close out the frame.

Leading 13-11 in the second stanza, Endicott strung together four straight points to stake a 17-11 lead before a kill by Acosta halted the run. The Blazers then scored four of the next seven points to creep to within four at 20-16. From there, the Gulls answered with another late-set run to claim a 25-16 win and take a 2-0 lead in the match.

In the third set, Endicott established a comfortable 10-point 21-11 lead before a kill by senior outside hitter Joshua Chagnon (Loudon, N.H.) set the score at 21-12. A kill by Siden gave Endicott match-point at 24-13 before a Gulls' service error and a solo block by freshman middle hitter Bryson Rainey (Brookline, Mass.) brought the score to 24-15. From there, an Elms service miscue allowed Endicott to claim a 25-15 third-frame victory and a 3-0 sweep in the contest.

Freshman setter Daniel Lebron (San Juan, Puerto Rico) paced the Blazers with 18 assists and a team-high eight digs, while Rainey finished with six kills.

Acosta added two solo blocks and two assisted blocks in the losing effort.

Endicott hit at an impressive .309 clip for the match as Siden downed his 15 kills on 31 attempts with just five errors (.323). Kubisch finished with nine kills on 16 swings with one misfire (.500), while setter Jeremy Schlosser (Emmaus, Pa.) directed the attack with 34 assists.

Kubisch added four service aces, while Andrew Slocum (Burnt Hills, N.Y.) collected a match-best 10 digs in the winning effort for the Gulls.

Elms returns to action on Sunday, Feb. 27 when it hosts Emerson College for a 1:00 p.m. match at Picknelly Arena.