Men's Volleyball Preview: Southern Vermont & Lesley

Chris Kendrick (@CKendrick86)

CHICOPEE, Mass. – The Elms College men's volleyball team will wrap up their 2015 campaign with a pair of New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) games this week. The Blazers will host Southern Vermont at Picknelly Arena Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m., followed by a road tilt at Lesley University Saturday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. 

Elms enters the week with a 4-19 overall record, and sits sixth in the NECC standings with a 1-9 mark. The Blazers have dropped back-to-back games since defeating Lesley in five sets to halt a four-game losing skid. Offensively, Elms is generating 7.36 kills per set with 9.01 digs, 6.62 assists, and 1.64 blocks. Injuries have plagued the Blazers down the stretch with freshmen Gabriel Reis Levy (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) and Daniel Bondarovsky (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), along with senior Kevin Welsh (Wilbraham, Mass.) being sidelined with ailments. In the wake of injuries, sophomore Qua'Sean Crowe (Stamford, Conn.), and freshman Blake Fry (Natick, Mass.) and Kahlil Peters (Hartford, Conn.) have assumed larger roles offensively. Fry ranks third on the team in kills with 68, while adding 101 digs, 11 blocks and seven service aces. Crowe has recorded 24 kills over the last five matches, while Peters has dished out 21 assists with 20 digs. Junior Cristian Arroyo (Chicopee, Mass.) has added 64 kills with a team-high 38 blocks, and sophomore Austin DeCosmo (Southwick, Mass.) has racked up 47 digs since filling in at libero, including a career-high 22 digs in the win over Lesley.

Southern Vermont opens the week at 14-6 overall, and owns the second spot in the NECC standings with an 8-2 record in conference play. The Mountaineers have won seven of their last nine matches including six three-set victories over NECC opponents. Southern Vermont leads the conference in kills per set (12.74), assists per set (11.71), and digs per set (11.03). The Mountaineers have four players with more than 170 kills on the season, led by freshman Stewart Ramirez (Los Angeles, Calif.) with 213 kills, ranking third in the NECC. Senior Keven Walley (Pico Rivera, Calif.) is fourth in the league with 191 kills, and second-most service aces with 31. Senior Joey Dighton (Riverside, Calif.), the reigning NECC Player of the Week, has tallied 180 kills with a team-high 51 blocks; and senior Scott Fitzgerald (Queensbury, N.Y.) has registered 173 kills with 117 digs and 27 blocks. Senior setter Herson Canta (Lagunitas, Calif.) has amassed a NECC-high 713 assists, while senior libero Tino Escovedo (Fresno, Calif.) has snared a league-high 213 digs.

The Lesley Lynx are 1-18 on the season, and 0-10 in NECC play. The Lynx have dropped six straight contests, including a five set loss at Elms, since their last win in five sets against Pratt on February 28^th. Lesley is averaging 6.48 kills per set with 7.80 digs, 6.00 digs, and 1.14 blocks. During their meeting last week, Lesley rallied from a 2-0 deficit to force a fifth set with the Blazers. Sophomore Tyler Burns (Newtown, Pa.) powers the Lynx attack with a team-high 179 kills, along with 100 digs, a team-high 35 blocks, and a team-high 15 service aces. Junior Jess Cherry (Lancaster, Pa.) has notched 95 kills with 96 digs and a team-high 15 service aces, while sophomore setter Michael Ulacco (Winchester, Mass.) has recorded 358 assists, sixth-most in the NECC. Junior C Jay Sutton (Billerica, Mass.) has a team-high 133 digs, and junior Chris Barletta (Valrico, Fla.) has added 40 kills and 44 digs.

All-time, the Blazers are 13-4 against Southern Vermont dating back to 2007 with the Mountaineers winning three of the last five meetings. Elms is 18-1 in 19 career meetings with Lesley dating back to the 2006 season. Elms has won 10 in a row over the Lynx.

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