Men's Volleyball Splits Home Trig-Match vs Potsdam and Brooklyn

CHICOPEE, MA - The Elms College Men's Volleyball team hosted SUNY Potsdam and Brooklyn College in a non-conference tri-match on Saturday.

BASICS
Match 1
Score: Elms College 0 (14, 23, 18) | SUNY Potsdam 3 (25, 25, 25)
Records: Blazers 2-8, 0-2 (GNAC) | Bears 5-9, 0-1 (NEVC)

Match 2
Score: Elms College 3 (17, 25, 25, 25) | Brooklyn College (25, 18, 19, 7)
Records: Blazers 3-8, 0-2 (GNAC) | Bulldogs 3-5, 0-1 (CUNYAC)

HOW IT HAPPENED

Match 1
The opening set would begin with the two sides trading the lead back and forth, where sophomore Rafa Artero (Madrid, Spain) and first-year Nick Uschmann (Agawam, MA) would block Potsdam to record the opening point of the match. Artero, Uschmann, and graduate student Pedro De Jesus (East Hartford, CT) would each record kills to help tie the match 4-4. The Bears would then take the lead and hold onto the lead, even with kills from Uschmann and De Jesus giving the Blazers offensive life. But as the first set was set to close, first-year John Bellafronte (Enfield, CT) would record a kill, but Potsdam would win the set 14-25.

The second set would begin with a similar start, but the Bears would record a service error and Bellafronte would serve an ace, giving Elms an early 2-0 lead. The two sides would continue to trade points including kills from Uschmann and junior Joshua Fernandez Garcia (Canovanas, PR). Potsdam would regain the lead and the Blazers offense began to come back to take the lead from their opponents with the help of four kills from Bellafronte, Uschmann, and first-year Joey Crain (Southwick, MA). But the Bears offense would reemerge and would win the set 23-25.

Elms would again take the early advantage, but Potsdam would quickly respond and take the lead. The Blazers offense would be assisted by kills from Artero and Fernandez Garcia followed by a service ace from first-year Al Sánchez (Guayama, PR). The Bears then went on a scoring spree, that would be paused by kills from Crain, Uschmann, and Bellafronte, securing the sweep with a final score of 18-25 for a Potsdam victory.

Match 2
The opening set of the second match would again start with the two sides contesting for the lead with Brooklyn would find early offensive success, while Elms would secure points from errors made by the Bulldogs, along with kills made by Artero, Uschmann, and De Jesus. Brooklyn would then take a larger lead, but the lead would be cut by three kills from Bellafronte and back-to-back service aces from Crain. The Bulldogs would continue to add to their lead, but the Blazers would not go without a fight with help from two kills by Uschmann and a block from Bellafronte. Brooklyn would win the set 17-25.

The second set of the match would begin with another early Elms lead, with the assistance of a Uschmann kill and a handful of Bulldog errors. The two sides would trade the lead for a short amount of time until a trio of kills from De Jesus, Fernandez Garcia, and Artero along with a service ace by Bellafronte would give the Blazers a comfortable lead. The Elms offensive structure continued their strategy and were able to secure their first set of the day with the help from back-to-back kills from Uschmann and Fernandez Garcia.

The third set of the match would begin in the favor of Brooklyn, starting with a 3-4 lead. The Blazers would see some offensive life when a kill by De Jesus and an ace from Uschmann secured their team's first lead of the set. From that moment on, Elms did not give up that lead, recording a total of seven kills and two service aces, with a score of 25-19.

The fourth and final set of the match a 4-0 lead by the Blazers, with kills by Artero and Uschmann and a service ace by Bellafronte. Elms would again refuse to give up their lead and with the assistance of seven kills and back-to-back aces by De Jesus, the Blazers were able to knock off the Bulldogs to secure the match with a 25-7 victory.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• De Jesus totaled 49 assists, 16 digs, nine kills, and four service aces.

• Uschmann tallied 19 kills, eight digs, five and a half blocks, and a service ace.

• Bellafronte added 14 kills, 10 digs, three service aces, and a block.

• Senior Collin Liedke (Newington, CT) would record 36 digs and seven assists.

UP NEXT: The Elms Men's Volleyball team will host Wentworth in a conference matchup at Picknelly Arena on Tuesday, February 20th at 7PM.

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