Blazers Punch Ticket To Second Consecutive NECC Title Match

CHICOPEE, Mass. – The second-seeded Elms College men's volleyball team punched its ticket to a second-consecutive New England Collegiate Conference championship match with a 3-0 semifinal victory over third-seeded Eastern Nazarene College on Thursday evening.

The Blazers (19-6) won 25-13, 25-15, 25-14 to extend their winning-streak to six heading into Saturday's championship match. Elms will visit No. 14 and top-seeded Endicott College at 2:00 p.m. on April 14 with a berth into the NCAA Tournament on the line. Endicott has won the last five NECC titles, including two championship match victories over the Blazers in that span.

Jovanny Torres (Juncos, P.R.) led Elms with 13 kills while hitting .440 on Thursday. He added six assists, four digs and five blocks in the match. Jeremy Torres (Juncos, P.R.) added 10 kills and nine digs and hit .318 for the Blazers. John Dunphy (Farmington, Conn.) finished with 17 assists for Elms and Gabe Levy tallied seven blocks, four kills and two aces.

The Blazers hit .271 in the match and held the Lions (14-12) to a -.044 hitting percentage. Elms owned a 10-0 advantage in aces, 31-26 edge in digs, and an 11-5 lead in total blocks.

Kenny Sorensen (Quincy, Mass.) led the Lions with eight kills and five digs. Matthew Tyree (Lansdale, Pa.) had a team-high nine assists to go along with five digs, and James Hoopes (Lenexa, Kan.) had four blocks for Eastern Nazarene.