Men's Volleyball Swept in Season Opening Tri-Match at Regis

WESTON, Mass. - The Elms College Men's Volleyball team traveled to Regis College to take on the Pride and SUNY Polytechnic Institute in a non-conference tri-match up on Friday.

BASICS
Match 1
Score: Elms College 2 (19, 28,19, 25,12) | Regis College 3 (25, 26, 25, 23, 25)
Records: Blazers 0-1, 0-0 (GNAC) | Pride 1-0, 0-0 (GNAC)

Match 2
Score: Elms College 0 (16, 24,16) | SUNY Polytechnic Institute 3 (25, 26, 25)
Records: Blazers 0-2, 0-0 (GNAC) | Wildcats 2-3, 0-0 (Empire 8)

HOW IT HAPPENED

Match 1

The opening set would begin with Regis getting the first point of the set, however Elms would capitalize after Regis would make back to back attack errors. Then Regis would commit a service error that would result in a point for Elms. First year middle hitter/outside/opposite Yazhua Marin Valentin (Springfield, Mass.) would put another point on the board for the Blazers with a service ace. After another service error made by the Pride, the Blazers would get another point. Then we would see a kill made by sophomore defensive specialist/outside/libero/setter Al Sánchez (Guayama, P.R.) assisted by first year setter Hunter Ladouceur (Wilbraham, Mass.). Sánchez would then get three service aces back to back, giving Elms three more points. Elms would get another point due to a service error made by the Pride. Then Elms would get a kill made by sophomore middle hitter/outside John Bellafronte (Enfield, Conn.) assisted by Lanouceur. The Blazers would get two more points after two errors made by the Pride. After five points made by Regis, Elms would answer back with a kill made by Ladouceur. With a bad set by the Pride, it would result in another point for the Blazers. Then Regis would make three back to back errors, resulting in three points for Elms. Elms would get their last point of the set with an attack error made by Regis. Unfortunately the Blazer would fall short in the first set 19-25.

In the second set, we would see a similar start where Regis would get the first point of the set. Then, Elms would answer back with a service error made by Regis and a kill made by Bellafronte. After the Pride get two more points, the Blazers would gain the lead adding 4 points to the board. They would do this by getting a kill made by sophomore opposite Nick Uschmann (Agawam, Mass), an attack error, and two service aces. Elms would maintain the lead after Marin Valentin got a kill assisted by Ladouceur and a service ace made by the team. Then an attack error was made by Regis, giving another point for Elms.  After a service error was made by the Blazers, Ladouceur would get a kill assisted by Bellafronte. Following a service error made by Elms, an attack error was made by Regis. Which would be followed by another service error made by Regis. After two points made by the Pride, they would make another service error, giving the Blazers another point. The Pride would hold the ball, putting three more points on the board, Bellafronte would get a kill assisted by Ladouceur. Points would go back and forth between the two teams. The Blazers would get two points from kills made by Uschmann and Bellafronte, both assisted by Ladouceur and a point made by an attack error. After the back-and-forth, Elms would hold the ball adding 4 more points on the board, with a service error, two attack errors, and a kill made by Bellafronte assisted by Ladouceur. Ushcmann would get another kill for the Blazers, which was then followed by a service ace. At this point in the set, the Blazers hold the lead at 23-19. Then after the Pride closed in, an attack error was made by Regis. After Regis takes the lead, Elms ties the game due to an error made by the Pride.  Then Elms takes the lead, by getting a point from a service ace. After Regis tied the set again, Elms answered back with a kill made by junior middle hitter Rafa Artero (Madrid, Spain) assisted by Ladouceur. The Blazers would secure the win with their last kill made by Bellafronte. This kill would seal the victory for the Blazers, 28-26.

In the third set, we would see a different narrative than the first two sets. The Blazers would start off with the first point made by an attack error. Which would be followed by a service error. After Regis takes the lead, the Blazers answer back with a kill made by Marin Valentin, which was assisted by Ladouceur. Then Elms would close the gap with a kill made by Uschmann, which was assisted by Ladouceur. After Regis puts up two more points, the Blazers are able to put up a kill made by Sáchez, which was assisted by senior defensive specialist/libero/outside Joshua Fernandez Garcia (Canovanas, P.R.). Then Elms would see another kill made by sophomore libero Sam Moreno (El Paso, Texas) that was assisted by Ladouceur. Then after two service errors that were made by Regis, it gave Artero the opportunity to make a kill. The Pride would continue to struggle offensive, continuing to commit errors, as the Blazers would continue their efforts offensive, including kills by Fernandez Garcia, Marin Valentin, and Uschmann. The Regis offense would collect themselves and would take the third set, 25-19.

The fourth set would begin with the conference foes trading the lead back and forth, but with the assistance from kills from Bellafronte, Uschmann, Ladouceur, and Artero, along with a service ace by Marin Valentin, Elms would take the lead 8-5. The two sides would continue to trades blows, seeing three kills by Uschmann and an ace by Bellafronte, but the Pride would create a rally to take over offensively briefly, until the Blazers generated a rally of their own, seeing Bellafronte making two kills and a service ace, three blocks assisted by Marin Valentin and Uchmann, along with kills from Marin Valentin and Uchmann and a final block by Artero and Ladouceur, to take the fourth set, 25-23, tie the match, two sets to two, and send the season opening match into the fifth and final set.

The fifth and final set would begin with Elms earning an early 4-0 lead, with the help from back-to-back service aces from Ladouceur and a kill by Bellafronte. Regis would quickly respond by finding holes in the Blazers defense, but Elms would continue their efforts to maintain their lead, with the assistance of kills by Uschmann, Artero, and Marin Valentin. Unfortunately, the Pride would once again rally late and score four straight points to defeat the Blazers 15-12 in their first matchup of the 2025 season.

Match 2

The opening set would see SUNY Poly score first, but kills from Uschmann, Marin Valentin, and Bellafronte, along with errors by the opposition would help keep Elms in the battle early, but the Wildcats would capitalize on errors by the Blazers to take the lead. As SUNY Poly continued to add to their lead, Elms would see an additional five kills by Uschmann, Artero, and Bellafronte, but the Wildcats would take the first set 25-16.

SUNY Poly would be the first to score in the second set, making the first five points, but the Blazers would begin to counter with the assistance of kills by Sánchez and Marin Valentin, along with a service ace from Bellafronte, to bring the score to 9-7. The two sides would battle for points, including a service ace by Uschmann and kills from Artero, Marin Valentin, Uschmann, Sánchez, Ladouceur, and Bellafronte, to help bring a strong fight to the very end of the set, but the Wildcats would win the second set 26-24.

The third and final set would once again be in the control of SUNY Poly, Elms would generate early kills by Sánchez and Uchmann, but the Wildcats offense would continue to capitalize on errors and record kills. Late kills by Marin Valentin, Uschmann, Bellafronte, and Artero, along with a block by Marin Valentin, would help the Blazers within an arm's length of tying the set, but SUNY Poly would win the third set, 25-16, and would defeat Elms three sets to zero.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Uschmann would make 23 kills, four block assists, three digs, two service aces, and an assist.

• Ladouceur made 31 assists, six digs, five kills, three block assists, and two service aces.

• Moreno created 23 digs, five assists, and a kill.

• Bellafronte generated 19 digs, 15 kills, seven service aces, and an assist.

• Marin Valentin made 10 kills, five block assists, three service aces, and two digs.

• Artero would make eight kills, three blocks, and two block assists.

• Fernandez Garcia would end both matches with seven digs, a kill, and an assist.

• Sánchez ended the day with 14 digs, five kills, and four service aces.

UP NEXT: The Elms Men's Volleyball team will host Russell Sage College for their home opener on Wednesday, January 22nd at 7 pm at Picknelly Arena.

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