Men's Volleyball Blanks Lesley

Chris Kendrick (@CKendrick86)

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The Elms College men's volleyball surrendered only 24 points during a three-set sweep of host Lesley University during a New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) match at the Nicholas Athletic Center Tuesday night. With the win, the Blazers improved to 15-9 on the campaign and 7-4 in conference action, while the Lynx drop to 0-6 in the NECC and 1-15 overall.

The Blazers set the tone for the match with a 25-7 victory over Lesley in the first set, sparked by a 12-0 run to open play, featuring four kills from junior Gabriel Reis Levy (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil). Elms used aces at the service line from Reis Levy, sophomore John Dunphy (Farmington, Conn.), and senior Aaron Fogle (Queens Village, N.Y.) to expand their advantage to 18-5. The Blazers capitalized on Lynx errors down the stretch, paired with a kill from Reis Levy and an ace from senior Qua'Sean Crowe (Stamford, Conn.), to take the 1-0 lead.

Fogle notched a pair of kills to help the Blazers to 6-2 lead in the second set. Elms raced ahead with an 8-1 run, paced by aces from Fogle and freshman David Hernandez (Springfield, Mass.), to build a 14-5 gap. The Lynx closed trimmed the deficit to 16-9, but the Blazers cruised to the finish line with a 9-2 run, featuring strikes from junior Blake Fry (Natick, Mass.) and Hernandez, to secure the 25-11 win.

Elms wrapped up the sweep in dominant fashion, rolling to a 25-6 win in the final set. The Blazers kicked off the frame with a 12-2 run, powered by a pair of kills from Fogle, Hernandez, and senior Dervin Dimanche (Queens, N.Y.). Hernandez slammed another kill and added a pair of aces to push Elms to a 20-4 advantage. Lesley freshman Patrick Corcoran (West Hartford, Conn.) delivered the final kills of the day for the Lynx, but Fogle and Fry posted back-to-back kills to complete the 25-6 victory.

The Blazers offense featured four attacked with five-plus kills in the match, led by six-kill efforts from Hernandez and Fogle. Fogle set new career-high in kills and aces (3), while Hernandez added six digs and three aces. Fry tallied five kills with four digs, and Reis Levy chipped in five kills in one set of action. Dimanche notched four kills and a career-high four aces. Junior Kahlil Peters (Hartford, Conn.) totaled a match-high 17 assists, while Dunphy added eight assists and four aces in the win.

Lesley senior Jason Hulteen (Galena, Ohio) led the Lynx attack with a team-high five kills and three digs. Senior Jacob DiDomenico (North Providence, R.I.) and sophomore Steven Newman (Natick, Mass.) chipped in three kills apiece, and sophomore John Gersbeck (Westerly, R.I.) had a team-high 12 assists.

The Blazers will be back in action for the regular season finale against Newbury College at Picknelly Arena Saturday, April 8^th at 1:00 p.m. Elms will be honoring their departing senior in a pre-game ceremony. The Lynx travel to Eastern Nazarene for an NECC match Thursday at 7:00 p.m.

ELMS VOLLEYBALL