Men’s Volleyball Falls to Newbury College, 3-0

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Elms College senior middle hitter Bryson Rainey (Brookline, Mass.) floored a match-high 16 kills but Newbury College used 14 kills from Chi Yin Li (Hong Kong, China) and 12 kills from Billy Stephen (Windemere, Fla.) to help the Nighthawks seal a 3-0 (25-22, 25-15, 25-19) victory over the Blazers in Wednesday evening's New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) men's volleyball match.

With the loss, Elms moves to 6-14 overall, 4-5 in NECC action, while Newbury improves to 6-16 on the season, 3-7 in league play.

Rainey smashed 16 kills, collected five digs and notched a pair of solo blocks, while senior setter Kevin Welsh (Wilbraham, Mass.) dished out 22 assists and tied for the match-high in digs with nine to lead Elms in defeat.

Senior opposite hitter Kordel Latimer (Lynn, Mass.) added five kills and five digs, while sophomore libero Roger Conklin (Chicopee, Mass.) and freshman defensive specialist Ian Isgut (San Juan, Puerto Rico) finished with six digs each. Freshman middle hitter Austin DeCosmo (Tolland, Mass.) added three kills and three digs in the loss.

Newbury was led by Li and Stephen combined for 26 of the Nighthawks' 37 kills while Jake Powell (Salinas, Calif.) chipped in seven kills and Patrick Robidoux (Barrington, R.I.) dished out a match-best 29 assists.

Stephen Watson (Marina, Calif.) notched a match-best nine digs, Li dug eight balls, and Powell and Robidoux added five digs. Watson also served up three of Newbury's six aces to help seal the victory.

Elms returns to NECC action on Saturday, March 29 when it hosts Regis College at 11:00 a.m. at Picknelly Arena.