Endicott College Tops Men’s Volleyball, 3-0

CHICOPEE, Mass. – Elms College sophomore middle hitter Bryson Rainey (Brookline, Mass.) notched a match-high 10 kills, but Endicott College hit .400 as a team as setters Jeremy Schlosser (Emmaus, Pa.) and Carter Roche (Clifton Park, N.Y.) directed the attack with a combined 34 assists to help lift the Gulls to a 3-0 (25-17, 25-18, 25-16) sweep of the Blazers in Wednesday evening's New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) men's volleyball match at Picknelly Arena.

With the loss, Elms moves to 12-6 overall, 4-2 in league action while Endicott improves to 10-11 on the season and remains unbeaten in NECC play to improve to 8-0.

In the opening set, Endicott sprinted out to a 20-13 lead before Elms' freshman middle hitter Angel Castro (Carolina, Puerto Rico) floored a kill and the Gulls were forced into an attacking error to set the score at 20-15. After a kill and an ace by Thomas Stoeckinger (Malibu, Calif.), the Blazers used a Rainey kill and an Endicott misfire to again establish a five-point differential at 22-17. From there, a pair of kills by Jeremy Siden (Natick, Mass.) and one from Joshua Bruno (Andover, Mass.) allowed the Gulls to claim the first frame, 25-17.

Trailing 22-16 in the second stanza, Elms scored two of the next three points when Rainey and sophomore setter Daniel Lebron (San Juan, Puerto Rico) notched a kill each to set the score at 23-18, but a kill by Endicott's Brennan Lowe (Malibu, Calif.) and a Blazers' attacking error gave the Gulls a 25-18 second set victory and a 2-0 lead in the match.

In the third set Endicott cruised to a 24-15 lead before a service error set the score to 24-16. The Gulls completed the sweep when Lance Pepper (Torrington, Conn.) downed his third kill of the contest to seal a 25-16 third frame victory.

Siden led the Gulls with nine kills and a pair of service aces, while Bruno followed with six kills.

Stoeckinger and Matt Devendorf (Glastonbury, Conn.) finished with five kills apiece, while Schlosser handed out a team-high 19 assists and a match-best seven digs. Roche added 15 helpers, while Andrew Slocum (Burnt Hills, N.Y.) added six digs in the winning effort.

Rainey hit .471 (10K, 2E, 17TA) and recorded four digs, while Castro contributed eight kills to lead Elms' hitters.

Junior outside hitter Stephen Cameron (Newington, Conn.) chipped in six kills, while Lebron dished out 26 of the Blazers' 29 assists in the contest.

Elms returns to NECC action on Saturday, March 24 when it hosts Lesley University at 2:00 p.m. at Picknelly Arena. Saturday's match also marks a "pink-out" event for Elms.