Men's Volleyball Splits Tri-Match vs Wentworth and Dean

FRANKLIN, MA - The Elms College Men's Volleyball team traveled to Franklin, MA for a conference tri-match between No. 1 Wentworth Institute of Technology and Dean College Saturday afternoon.

BASICS
Match 1
Score: Elms College 0 (20, 15, 20) | No. 1 Wentworth Institute of Technology 3 (25, 25, 25)
Records: Blazers 5-17, 0-7 (GNAC) | Leopards 24-0, 6-0 (GNAC)

Match 2
Score: Elms College 3 (25, 20, 25, 25) | Dean College 1 (14, 25, 20, 21)
Records: Blazers 6-17, 1-7 (GNAC) | Bulldogs 3-12, 0-8 (GNAC)

HOW IT HAPPENED
Match 1
The opening set would begin with the two opponents with tied score of 3-3, with the assistance of a kill by first-year Joey Crain (Southwick, MA). Soon thereafter, Wentworth would take advantage with a mixture of offensive life and errors made by Elms to take the lead. A kill by graduate student Collin Liedke (Newington, CT) and a block by sophomore Rafa Artero (Madrid, Spain) and first-year Nick Uschmann (Agawam, MA) would bring the Blazers within two-points of tying the Leopards 7-9. WIT would go on to extend their lead, but Elms would continue to fight back with kills by graduate student Pedro De Jesus (East Hartford, CT), junior Joshua Fernandez Garcia (Canovanas, PR), Ushmann, and a block by Uschmann and first-year John Bellafronte (Enfield, CT) would bring the Blazers back to within two-points of Wentwoth's lead. But even with their efforts, the Leopards would take the first set of the match 20-25.

The second set would begin with WIT taking an early 1-4 lead, but Elms would respond with a kill from Uschmann and capitalize on errors committed by Wentworth to tie the score at 5-5. Shortly later, the Blazers would take the lead with the help of kills by Uschmann and Crain. The Leopards would later regain the lead, but the efforts from Elms would not be shut down with the assistance of a service ace from Bellafronte, but Wentworth would secure the set 15-25.

The third and final set of the opening match would begin with an early 6-3 lead for the Blazers after the Leopards made tactical errors and a service ace from Fernandez Garcia. Kills by Bellafronte and De Jesus would help to extend their lead, but this lead would be taken over by Wentworth after a nine-point scoring spree. The Blazers would continue to regain the lead, with the help from kills by Crain, Uschmann, Bellafronte, and De Jesus, but the Leopards would win the set 20-25 and secure the sweep over the Blazers

Match 2
The opening set of the second match would begin with a 6-1 Elms lead with the help from kills by Artero, De Jesus, Uschmann, and a service ace by sophomore David Tompkins (Southwick, MA). The Blazers would continue to extend their lead throughout the set, seeing kills from Crain, Artero, Uschmann, De Jesus, Bellafronte, Liedke, and service ace from De Jesus, to win the set 25-13.

The second set would see the Bulldogs take an early lead, but kills by first-year Al Sánchez (Guayama, PR), Uschmann, and De Jesus would take the lead for Elms. The Blazers would continue to extend their lead, including back-to-back service aces by De Jesus. Elms would extend their lead 20-18, but Dean would come back and score an unanswered seven points to win the set 20-25.

The third set started with another offensive showing by the Blazers, gaining an early 7-2 lead. During this scoring spree, De Jesus, Artero, and Bellafronte would record kills and Tompkins would add a service ace. Elms would hold on to the lead throughout the set and win the set 25-20.

The fourth and final set would again see the Blazers take an early lead. Elms would see offensive life through kills and service aces as well as capitalize on errors committed by Dean throughout the set, but similar to the previous set, the Blazers would not let the Bulldogs gain the lead and win the set and match with a final score of 25-21.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Leidke: 60 assists, 23 digs, seven kills, two service aces, and 1.5 blocks.

• De Jesus: 25 kills, 14 digs, four service aces, and five assists.

• Uschmann: 25 kills, three digs, and three block assists.

• Bellafronte: 11 kills, five digs, five blocks, and a service ace.

• Tompkins: three service aces and four digs.

UP NEXT: The Elms Men's Volleyball team will travel to Regis College in a conference match on Tuesday, March 26th at 7PM.

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