Newbury College Outlasts Men’s Volleyball, 3-1 In NECC Championship

BROOKLINE, Mass. – Second-seeded Elms College junior outside hitter Yonalvy Acosta (Holyoke, Mass.) downed a team-high 14 kills, but No. 1 Newbury College's Max Daley (Cranston, R.I.) smashed a match-best 16 kills to help lift the Nighthawks to a 3-1 (25-15, 20-25, 25-9, 25-22) win and its second-straight New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) mens' volleyball championship on Saturday afternoon at Hellenic College.

With the win, Newbury improves to 23-11 on the season, while Elms falls to 12-17 overall.   

In the opening set, Newbury soared to a 25-15 win on the strength of four kills by Danny Kim (Plainville, N.Y.) and Matt Talamantes (Los Angeles, Calif.), and three kills by Daley to stake the early lead.

In the second set, the sides played to a 19-19 tie before Elms used a 6-1 run highlighted by two kills from Acosta, one from freshman middle hitter Bryson Rainey (Brookline, Mass.) and a service by freshman setter Daniel Lebron (San Juan, Puerto Rico) to claim a 25-20 win and even the match at 1-1. 

Newbury hit a sensational .550 in the third set and cruised to a 25-9 win to take a 2-1 lead in the match before the Blazers battled back in the fourth frame.

Trailing 23-19, Acosta floored a kill and then teamed with Rainey on an assisted block to pull Elms to within one at 23-22, but a kill by Daley and a Blazers' attacking error allowed Newbury to capture its second conference title in as many years.

Rainey finished with nine kills and five assisted blocks, while sophomore outside hitter Stephen Cameron (Newington, Conn.) totaled 12 kills and a match-high 13 digs in the losing effort for the Blazers.

Lebron added 35 assists and three service aces for Elms.

James Beck (Havre De Grace, Md.) and Kim totaled 12 and 10 kills respectively, while Talamantes paced the Nighthawks with 45 assists as Newbury hit .419 for the match.

Elms returns to non-conference action on Wednesday, March 30 when it hosts Johnson & Wales University at 7:00 p.m. at Picknelly Arena.