Men's Volleyball Splits with Bard

ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, NY - The Elms College Men's Volleyball team traveled to Bard College to take on the Raptors in a doubleheader on Saturday.

BASICS

Match 1

Score: Elms College 3 (25, 26, 25) | Bard College 0 (17, 24, 15)

Records: Blazers 2-4, 0-2 (GNAC) | Raptors 2-4, 0-0 (NEVC)

Match 2

Score: Elms College 2 (23, 25, 25, 19, 15) | Bard College (25, 16, 21, 25, 17)

Records: Blazers 2-5, 0-2 (GNAC) | Raptors 3-4, 0-0 (NEVC)

HOW IT HAPPENED

MATCH 1

The opening set of the first match would begin with a kill from graduate student Pedro De Jesus (East Hartford, CT) assisted by senior Collin Liedke (Newington, CT). The Raptors would gain the lead, but the Blazers would regain the lead with kills from Liedke and first-year Nick Uschmann (Agawam, MA). Elms would extend their lead with back-to-back service aces from Liedke and kills from De Jesus, Uschmann, and sophomore Rafa Artero (Madrid, Spain) to 20-9. The set would close with a kill from Liedke and a service ace from De Jesus, securing the first set for the Blazers.

Bard would earn an early lead in the middle set, but with the help of a kill and a service ace from Uschmann, Elms would gain the lead at 5-3. The two-sides would trade the lead, but the Blazers would earn a large lead with the assistance from kills by De Jesus, Liedke, Uschamann, and first-year Joey Crain (Southwick, MA). The Raptors would continue to fight to secure the lead, but Uschmann would make four kills and a service ace to earn the second set for Elms.

The third and final set would begin with Bard making back-to-back kills, but three Raptor errors and a kill from De Jesus would help the Blazers take the lead. Elms would take their lead further with kills from De Jesus and Uchmann followed by service aces from Liedke, junior Joshua Fernandez Garcia (Canovanas, PR), and first-year John Bellafronte (Enfield, CT). Fernandez Garcia and Uschmann would each record a kill to bring the score to 18-12 in the favor of Elms. The match would close with a pair of kills from De Jesus and a service ace from Liedke to secure the sweep.

MATCH 2

The second match would begin with a 0-3 lead in favor of Bard, but the Blazers would find some offense from Fernandez Garcia, Uschmann, and Bellafronte to earn their first lead. The opposing sides would exchange the lead back and forth, until a kill from Bellafronte and a service ace from Uschmann would earn a short lived lead for Elms. The Raptors would regain the lead, but the Blazers would not give up, as De Jesus and Uschmann made a pair of kills to earn the lead. Elms would extend their lead with a pair of service aces from first-year Al Sánchez (Guayama, PR), but Bard would secure the set shortly after.

The next set would begin with a kill from Artero, but the Raptors earned a 3-4 lead shortly after. Liedke would record a kill to gain the lead and Bellafronte quickly added a kill to extend their lead. The Blazers would continue their lead to 12-7 after a few errors from Bard and another kill from Artero. Elms would secure the set, with the assistance of a pair of kills from Uschmann, a service ace from De Jesus, and an additional kill from Bellafronte.

The third set would start with the two sides exchanging the lead, with kills from Uschmann, Fernandez Garcia, and Bellafronte, but the Raptors would get the upper hand with a score of 4-6. But the Blazers would regain the lead again with a pair of kills from De Jesus. Shortly after, Liedke, De Jesus, and Sánchez would each make a service ace and Uschmann would add another kill to his tally. Elms would secure their second set with the help of a service ace from sophomore David Tompkins (Southwick, MA) and kills from Bellafronte, De Jesus, and Uschmann.

The fourth set would begin with another battle for early leverage between the two opposing teams, but kills from Artero and Uschmann would help the Blazers get the early lead. Bard would regain the lead and a kill from De Jesus would even the score. Back-to-back kills from Liedke and De Jesus would regain the lead, but the Raptors would regain the lead and extend it further shortly after. Elms tried to narrow their opponent's lead, but Bard's offense continued to rack up points and proved to be too much as they even the match score at 2-2.

The fifth and final set would see the two teams again clash for the early lead, but after back-to-back kills and a Blazer's attack error, the Raptors would gain a large lead over Elms. The Blazers would narrow the lead after two kills from Uschmann and multiple errors from Bard, but the Raptors would hold their lead. De Jesus would make a late kill to extend the match by a frame but Bard would secure the victory with a 15-17 win.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• De Jesus would record 31 kills, three service aces, and four blocks.

• Uschmann made a total of 25 kills, 10 blocks, and three service aces.

• Liedke added 69 assists, 18 digs, and five kills in both matches.

UP NEXT: The Elms Men's Volleyball team will travel to Manhattanville College on Tuesday, February 6th at 7:00 PM.

--

For continuing coverage of Elms College Athletics, visit www.ecblazers.com and follow the Blazers on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.