Southern Vermont Clips Men's Volleyball

Chris Kendrick (@CKendrick86)

CHICOPEE, Mass. – The Elms College men's volleyball team was defeated by visiting Southern Vermont College, 3-0 (14-25, 17-25, 22-25), in a New England Collegiate Conference matchup at Picknelly Arena Wednesday night.

In the first set, the Mountaineers grabbed a 5-3 lead after back-to-back kills from freshman Stewart Ramirez (Los Angeles, Calif.). Leading 8-6 over Elms, Southern Vermont began to pull away from the Blazers with an 8-2 run, featuring a trio of service aces and a pair of kills from senior Scott Fitzgerald (Queensbury, N.Y.), to take a 16-8 lead. The squads traded points down the stretch with the Mountaineers closing out the first set win with a pair of service aces from senior Keven Walley (Pico Rivera, Calif.) to pick up the 25-14 win.

The Blazers grabbed a 4-2 lead in the second set following kills from freshman Gabriel Reis Levy (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) and sophomore Qua'Sean Crowe (Stamford, Conn.). The Mountaineers evened the scoreboard at 5-5 after kills from Fitzgerald and Ramirez. Kills from Reis Levy and freshman Daniel Bondarovsky (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) kept Southern Vermont at bay at 11-9. The Blazers maintained a point lead over the Mountaineers until Southern Vermont capitalized on two kills from Ramirez, followed by a kill from senior Joey Dighton (Riverside, Calif.) to capture a 16-15 lead. The Mountaineers wrapped up an 8-0 run to take a 21-15 lead. Errors resulted in the final points for Southern Vermont, capped off by a kill from Walley to win the second set, 25-17.

Elms took an early 3-1 lead in the third set until Southern Vermont used an 8-3 run to take a 9-6 advantage over the Blazers. Elms trimmed their deficit to a point, 10-9, but the Mountaineers rebuilt a 16-11 lead on kills from Ramirez and Walley. Dighton connected on four consecutive kills for Southern Vermont to increase the Mountaineers lead to 20-15. The Blazers rallied back with kills from Reis Levy and junior Cristian Arroyo (Chicopee, Mass.) to pull within two points, 21-19. Elms couldn't overcome their deficit in the closing points as kills from Ramirez and Fitzgerald capture the three-set win for the Blazers.

Elms was led offensively by a team-high 12 kills from Reis Levy. Bondarovsky grabbed a game-high 12 digs with seven kills, while Crowe added four kills and a block. Senior setter Kevin Welsh (Wilbraham, Mass.) tallied 25 assists in the loss.

Ramirez and Dighton powered the Mountaineers with double-digit kill efforts. Ramirez notched a match-high 14 kills with four digs, while Dighton recorded 12 kills and a block. Walley registered eight kills, eight digs and three service aces. Fitzgerald had seven kills, six digs and three service aces, while senior setter Herson Canta (Lagunitas, Calif.) dished out a match-high 41 assists.

The Blazers will wrap up the 2015 campaign with a road trip to Lesley University Saturday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. Southern Vermont will head to Springfield College this weekend for the Springfield College Invitational on Friday and Saturday.

ELMS VOLLEYBALL