Southern Vermont College Rallies Past Men's Volleyball, 3-2

BENNINGTON, Vt. – Elms College freshman outside hitter Jeff Vautrin (Chicopee, Mass.) drilled a match-high 22 kills and junior setter Daniel Lebron (San Juan, Puerto Rico) dished out 54 assists, but Southern Vermont College battle back from a 2-0 deficit in the match to claim a 3-2 (20-25, 22-25, 25-23, 25-21, 15-13) victory in Tuesday evening's New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) men's volleyball match in Bennington, Vt.

With the loss, Elms moves to 9-8 overall, 3-3 in NECC action while Southern Vermont improves to 6-10 overall, 3-4 in conference play.

The Mountaineers were led by Joey Dighton (Riverside, Calif.) who recorded 16 kills and only four errors on 31 attack attempts while Vautrin led all players with 22 kills with five errors on 39 swings for a .436 hitting percentage for the Blazers.

Service errors were a problem for both teams as Elms recorded 16 on the night and Southern Vermont totaled 12. A Blazers' error from behind the line gave the Mountaineers their first lead in the opening set before the teams traded points through the middle of the frame. Southern Vermont led by as many as four (12-8), but Elms fought back to tie it up soon after and eventually took back the lead at 17-16. Late attack errors by Southern Vermont and kills from Blazers' senior outside hitter Stephen Cameron (Newington, Conn.) put it away for Elms, 25-20.

The second frame was even more tightly contested as Elms took the first point but could not stretch its lead to more than three (16-13). A kill from Mountaineer Caleb Odom (Redlands, Calif.) tied it at 19-19, but the Blazers responded with a putdown of their own by sophomore middle hitter Angel Castro (Carolina, Puerto Rico). Dighton went up and put the ball on the Elms side of the court to once again tie it (22-22); however, kills by Elms' junior middle hitter Bryson Rainey (Brookline, Mass.) and Vautrin gave the Blazers a 24-22 edge before an SVC hitting error ended it with the 25-22 Elms advantage.

The Mountaineers trailed early in the third set, but Elms errors allowed Southern Vermont to stay in it. Southern Vermont finally evened things up, 16-16, after a big kill by Alonzo Wright (Chula Vista, Calif.) and then took a two-point lead thereafter. The two teams went back-and-forth, recording 11-straight kills, but the Mountaineers made enough to take the 25-23 set victory. Cameron accounted for three of the six Blazer kills during that stretch.

The fourth set saw much of the same as neither team led by more than two until Southern Vermont scored three unanswered points for the 13-9 advantage. Elms stayed close, closing it to a one-point game a few times, but the Mountaineers kept their edge before finally taking the set 25-21.

The deciding frame saw complete efficiency on both sides as there was only one hitting error committed by the two teams combined. With the set tied 6-6, Vautrin followed up a Cameron kill with one of his own to go ahead 8-6. Elms led 11-8 and seemed to hold all the momentum, but four-straight points capped by a service ace by Wright put the Mountaineers up 12-11. With the tally evened up at 13-13, a big kill by the Moutaineers' Keven Walley (Pico Rivera, Calif.) gave his team the momentum that helped Dighton land the final notch on the night for the 15-13 game win.

Southern Vermont's Anthony Barahona (Eagle Rock, Calif.) followed Dighton with 11 kills, adding 13 digs, a solo block and a block assist to his night. Walley finished with 10 kills while Odom landed seven to go along with his six digs, three block assists and single solo block on the defensive end. Setter Herson Canta (Los Angeles, Calif.) had a double-double with 40 assists and 11 digs while also including six kills.

Cameron finished with 16 kills on the night while Rainey accounted for 15, and Castro added another 11. Rainey had 18 digs and Lebron finished with 17 digs to go along with 54 assists.

Elms returns to action at the Endicott College March Mania Tournament this weekend with the Blazers' first match at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday against the host Gulls.