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

CHICOPEE, Mass. – Elms College junior middle hitter Bryson Rainey (Brookline, Mass.) led four Blazers with double-digit kills with a match-high 23 and added eight digs to help Elms to a 3-1 (27-25, 25-21, 30-32, 25-22) victory over Johnson & Wales University in Thursday evening's non-conference men's volleyball match at Picknelly Arena.

With the win, Elms snaps its six-match losing skid and improves to 10-12 overall, while Johnson & Wales moves to 7-12 on the season.

With Elms leading 2-0 in the match, the sides battled to a 22-22 tie and from there, exchanged points resulting in eight more stalemates and a 30-30 score before the Wildcats' Kyle Eva (Charlestown, R.I.) floored a kill and the Blazers suffered an attacking error allowing Johnson & Wales to secure the set and force a fourth frame.

The fourth stanza saw the teams fight to 15 ties and a 22-22 score before Elms' senior outside hitter Stephen Cameron (Newington, Conn.) delivered a kill, the Wildcats committed an attacking error and freshman outside hitter Jeff Vautrin (Chicopee, Mass.) sealed the three-point stretch with his 23^rd termination of the match to lift the Blazers to the 3-1 triumph.

Elms won the opening set 27-25 on back-to-back kills by Vautrin to break a 25-25 tie, and followed with a 25-21 win in the second set to stake its 2-0 lead in the contest. 

Vautrin finished 17 kills and nine digs in the win, while Cameron and sophomore middle hitter Angel Castro (Carolina, Puerto Rico) chipped in 12 and 10 kills respectively. Cameron led the squad with a match-best 17 digs followed by 10 from Castro.

Junior setter Daniel Lebron (San Juan, Puerto) dished out a match-high 59 assists and chipped in nine digs directing the Blazers to a .333 overall hitting percentage.

Johnson & Wales also had four players reach double figures in kill led by Ryan Kennedy (West Barnstable, Mass.) who blasted 22. Shawn Kennedy (West Barnstable, Mass.) followed with 11 and Eva and Don Dias (Scituate, R.I.) contributed 10 kills each.

JJ Bessette (Coventry, R.I.) dished out 48 assists, while Alex Viera (Bay Shore, N.Y.) dug a team-best 12 balls, followed by nine digs from Shawn Kennedy.

Elms returns to New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) action on Saturday, March 23 with a 12:00 p.m. match at Lesley University.