Men's Volleyball Slides at Emmanuel

Chris Kendrick (@CKendrick86)

BOSTON, Mass. – The Elms College men's volleyball team had their six-game win streak snapped after dropping three sets, 3-0 (15-25, 30-32, 17-25), in a non-conference match at the Emmanuel College gymnasium Thursday night. The Blazers move to 8-3 on the year, while Emmanuel improves to 5-2 overall.

The Saints grabbed a 3-0 lead to open the first set, but the Blazers made it a 5-4 game on Emmanuel errors and a kill from sophomore Gabriel Reis Levy (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil). Elms senior Angel Castro (Carolina, Puerto Rico) used a kill to put the Blazers within a point, 7-6, but Emmanuel raced ahead with eight straight points, featuring a pair of kills from senior Barrett Wingard (York, Pa.), to take a 15-6 lead. Service errors from the Saints kept the Blazers close, but eight kills down the stretch locked up the 25-15 win for Emmanuel.

A pair of kills from Castro helped propel the Blazers to a 4-1 lead early in the second set. The Saints stayed with the Blazers to knot the score at 8-8, but Elms pushed ahead with a 6-3 run behind two kills from sophomore Daniel Bondarovsky (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), to take a 14-11 advantage. Emmanuel Drew Jordan (Braintree, Mass.) tallied back-to-back kills which sparked a 5-1 run which regained a 16-15 lead for the Saints. Following a timeout, the Blazers rattled off three straight points en route to a 20-17 lead. Three kills from Wingard brought the Saints back and a kill from senior Julian Hess (Santa Monica, Calif.) sent the match to extra points at 25-25. Errors plagued the bonus points and a kill from Reis Levy put Elms up 28-27, until Hess answered from the Saints. Tied at 30-30, Emmanuel captured the final two points on as Wingard assisted on a block and then delivered the set-winning kill to give the Saints the 32-30 victory.

Emmanuel freshman Erik English (Simi Valley, Calif.) served up a pair of aces to guide the Saints to an early 4-0 lead. Trailing 5-1, the Blazers evened the score on kills from Reis Levy and Bondarovsky. At 7-7, errors and aces assisted the Saints in building a 12-8 advantage. Down 17-11, the Blazers chipped away with a 4-1 run behind kills from Bondarovsky, Reis Levy, and freshman John Dunphy (Farmington, Conn.). The Saints stifled the Elms comeback with four consecutive points, featuring a kill and two aces from Wingard, en route to the 25-17.

The duo of Bondarovsky and Reis Levy registered a team-high nine kills apiece. Regis Levy snared a match-high 10 digs, while Bondarovsky grabbed eight digs. Castro had eight kills, and Dunphy dished out a team-high 26 assists.

Wingard powered the Saints with a match-high 15 kills, two aces, two digs and two blocks. Jordan and senior Garrett McGarry (Chicago, Ill.) added seven kills each, while junior Jorge Rojas (San Juan, Puerto Rico) logged a match-high 32 assists with five digs and three kills.

The Blazers will be back on the court in a New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) match against Endicott College at Picknelly Arena at 1:00 p.m. The Saints travel for a Great Northeast Athletic Conference tri-match at Lasell on Saturday afternoon. The Saints face the Lasers at 11:00 a.m. and Mount Ida College at 1:00 p.m.

ELMS VOLLEYBALL