Men’s Volleyball Suffers 3-1 Setback Against The Sage Colleges

BEVERLY, Mass. – Elms College junior middle hitter Bryson Rainey (Brookline, Mass.) led four Blazers in double-digit kills with 13, but the Sage Colleges used an 18-kill effort from Andy Fishman (Cornwallville, N.Y.) to help spark the Gators to a (19-25, 25-23, 25-14, 25-16) victory in Sunday afternoon's men's volleyball match during day two of the Endicott College March Mania tournament at the Post Center in Beverly, Mass.

With the loss, Elms moves to 9-12 on the season, while Sage improves to 18-5 overall.

In the opening set, Elms posted a 25-19 win on the strength of six kills from sophomore middle hitter Angel Castro (Carolina, Puerto Rico) and four from freshman outside hitter Jeff Vautrin (Chicopee, Mass.).

Sage answered by winning the next three sets to take a 3-1 victory in the match. Fishman, who downed four kills in the opening set, totaled 14 in the next three frames to finish with a match-best 18.

Spencer Hilland (Slingerlands, N.Y.) added 12 kills and Connor Thompson (Delmar, N.Y.) and Ryan Kramer (Delmar, N.Y.) chipped in eight kills each to lead the Gators who hit .287 as a team. Kyle Ray (Horseheads, N.Y.) dished out a match-high 42 assists and Spencer added eight digs to highlight the winning effort.

Blazers' junior setter Kevin Welsh (Wilbraham, Mass.) directed a balanced attack for Elms with 38 assists, as Vautrin smashed 11 kills, while Castro and senior outside hitter Stephen Cameron (Newington, Conn.) finished with 10 kills each behind Rainey's 13.

Freshman outside hitter Aleksandr Kuzmenko (Chicopee, Mass.) was a force at the net notching four solo blocks and four assisted blocks as Elms finished with 10.5 total blocks.

Elms is back in action on Thursday, Mach 21 when it hosts Johnson & Wales University at 7:00 p.m. at Picknelly Arena.