Men’s Volleyball Bests Johnson & Wales University, 3-1

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Elms College junior outside hitter Stephen Cameron (Newington, Conn.) smashed a match-best 11 kills and sophomore setter Daniel Lebron (San Juan, Puerto Rico) dished out 38 assists to help pace the Blazers to a 3-1 (25-22, 24-26, 25-14, 26-24) victory over Johnson & Wales University in Tuesday evening's non-conference men's volleyball match at Harborside RAC in Providence, R.I.

With the win, Elms improves 11-5 on the season, while Johnson & Wales falls to 5-8 on the season.

With the match even at one set apiece, Elms posted a 21-14 lead in the third frame and scored four unanswered points on the strength of a kill by sophomore middle hitter Bryson Rainey (Brookline, Mass.) and three straight attacking errors by Johnson & Wales to notch a 25-14 victory in the third frame and establish a 2-1 lead in the contest.

The fourth set was tightly contested with neither team gaining a foothold until the Blazers posted a 20-14 edge thanks to an attacking error by the Wildcats. Johnson & Wales then rallied to score seven consecutive points to take a 21-20 lead as Shawn Kennedy (West Barnstable, Mass.) and Dan Struebing (Coventry, R.I.) bookended the run with kills.

A Wildcats' attack error evened the frame at 21-21 and the sides battled to three more ties and set the score at 24-24 before Cameron blasted his 11^th kill of the match and Elms used a bad set to seal the victory.

Senior outside hitter Yonalvy Acosta (Holyoke, Mass.) amassed nine kills, four service aces and three assisted blocks, while senior outside hitter Carlos DeLeon (Carolina, Puerto Rico) and freshman middle hitter Angel Castro (Carolina, Puerto Rico) contributed eight kills each.

Rainey finished with six kills, while Castro recorded a match-high 12 digs and assisted on three blocks. DeLeon added nine digs, while Lebron followed with eight digs in the winning effort.

Johnson & Wales was led by Kennedy and Shawn Espinola (Derry, N.H.) who registered 10 kills each, while Josh Baker (North Kingstown, R.I.) led the defensive effort with 11 digs.

Struebing made his presence felt at the net, rising up for seven of the team's 16 assisted blocks, while setter JJ Bessette (Coventry, R.I.) dished out 23 helpers in the loss.

Elms returns to non-conference action on Friday, March 9 with a match at Lasell College at 7:00 p.m.