Men's Volleyball Preview: Lesley, Newbury, Regis

Chris Kendrick (@CKendrick86)

CHICOPEE, Mass. – The Elms College men's volleyball team will look to a four game skid during a week loaded with three New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) matches for the Blazers. Elms will host all three contests, facing Lesley Monday night, Newbury on Wednesday, and capped off with Regis Saturday morning.

The Blazers enter the week with a 3-17 record, and a 0-7 mark in NECC play. Elms is averaging 7.5 kills per set with 8.33 digs, 6.69 assists, and 1.62 blocks. The Blazers have been led by freshman outside hitter Gabriel Reis Levy (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) with a team-high 173 kills and a team-high 137 digs, ranking fifth and sixth in the NECC, respectively. Fellow freshman outside hitter Daniel Bondarovsky (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) has recorded 127 kills, 83 digs, and 23 blocks. Senior setter Kevin Welsh has logged 427 assists this season, including his 2,000th career helper against Regis, to rank fourth in the conference. Over the last two matches, sophomore middle hitter Qua'Sean Crowe (Stamford, Conn.) has tallied 14 kills with four blocks and four digs, while freshman opposite Blake Fry (Natick, Mass.) has added 12 kills with 15 digs, two service aces and two assists.

The Lesley Lynx open the week at 1-14 overall, and 0-6 in league play. The Lynx have dropped three straight matches by a combined score of 9-1. Lesley is averaging 5.96 kills per set with 7.12 digs, 5.47 assists and 1.14 blocks. Sophomore outside hitter Tyler Burns (Newtown, Pa.) is the focal point of the Lesley attack with a team-high 133 kills, 64 digs, and a team-high 30 blocks. Junior outside hitter Jess Cherry (Lancaster, Pa.) has 59 kills with 64 digs and a team-high 11 service aces. Sophomore setter Mitchel Ulacco (Winchester, Mass.) ranks eighth in the conference in assists with 248, while junior defensive specialist C. Jay Sutton (Billerica, Mass.) has grabbed a team-high 90 digs with 19 kills.

Newbury sits at 7-11 to start the week, and 4-5 in the NECC. The Nighthawks halted a five-game losing streak with a 3-0 win over CCNY in their last match. Newbury averages 9.95 kills per set with 8.98 assists, 8.8 digs, 1.26 blocks and 1.21 service aces. Senior outside hitter Danny Tiner (Salem, N.H.) paces the Nighthawks attack with a team-high 152 kills, ninth-most in the NECC. Freshman middle blocker Wade Robidoux (Agawam, Mass.) has registered 121 kills with 32 blocks, while senior outside hitter Chi Yin Li (Hong Kong, China) has amassed a team-high 153 digs, fourth in the NECC, with 78 kills, 43 assists, 23 service aces, and 10 blocks. Sophomore middle blocker Nile Fox (Hampton, Va.) has a team-high 35 blocks with 66 kills. In a 3-0 win over Elms earlier this season, Tiner had a game-high 14 kills with three aces, freshman outside hitter Joshua Thorne (Oxford, Conn.) added seven kills, and Robidoux had six kills with five blocks.

Regis owns an 8-14 record, and 4-4 league mark to begin the week with match against Daniel Webster (4-11, 4-5 NECC) prior to Saturday's match at Elms. The Pride are riding a three-game win streak, and have won five of their last six matches. Regis is averaging 9.96 kills per set with 10.11 digs, 8.89 assists, 2.21 blocks, and 1.1 service aces. The Pride have six players who have amassed 80-plus kills on the season, led by freshman Marcos Aguirre (Norwalk, Calif.) with a team-high 132 kills and 42 blocks, while freshman middle blocker Brett Krahl (Santa Clarita, Calif.) has added 129 kills with a team-high 67 blocks. Freshman outside hitter Josiah Roque (Oxnard, Calif.) has tallied 93 kills with 87 digs and 26 blocks, and sophomore middle blocker Brandon Tordoff (Coventry, R.I.) has chipped in 92 kills and 61 blocks. Freshman right side hitter Ryan Conte (Oxnard, Calif.) has 88 kills, 85 digs, and 17 blocks. Freshman setter Ryan Husher (Camarillo, Calif.) has dished out a team-high 307 assists, fifth-most in the NECC, with 100 digs, 84 kills, and 36 blocks. During the Pride's 3-0 win over Elms last week, Aguirre posted a game-high 13 kills, while Krahl and Husher added eight kills apiece.

The Blazers will square off with Lesley Monday night at 7:00 p.m. at Picknelly Arena. Elms will return to Picknelly Arena to face Newbury Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m., and then close the week out against Regis Saturday morning at 10:00 a.m. at Picknelly Arena.

ELMS VOLLEYBALL