Jan. 27, 2010
Box Score
BOSTON, Mass. - The Emmanuel Men's Volleyball Team cruised to a 3-0 sweep of Johnson & Wales University on Wednesday night in Great Northeast Athletic Conference action played in the Jean Yawkey Center. The Saints, who were ranked 10th in this week's North East Collegiate Volleyball Association (NECVA) poll, improved to 5-3 overall and 2-0 in league play with the win. The loss dropped JWU to 1-5 on the season and 0-2 in the GNAC.
With a 7-5 lead in the opening set, Emmanuel's junior transfer Tyson Rietz (Granite Bay, Calif.) served off three-straight points to go up 10-5. Strong serving by Keoni Rabaino (Tucson, Ariz.) and Sean O'Connor (Hampstead, N.H.), capped with an ace by Michael Townsend (Beaverdam, Va.) and a kill by Matt Salvi (Trumbull, Conn.) brought the score to 19-11 and forced a Wildcat timeout. Emmanuel then went up 27-14 on consecutive kills by Townsend and Rietz. Rabaino finished off the set with a kill down the middle and Emmanuel took a 30-15 win and a 1-0 lead in the match.
Emmanuel stormed out to a 10-3 lead in the second set. Great defense by Taylor Lowe (Malibu, Calif.) and a kill by Alexander Petty (Wayland, Mass.) stretched the lead to 13-6. A big kill by Michael Mottola (Quincy, Mass.) extended the Emmanuel lead to 15-6 and forced another JWU timeout.
Out of the timeout, the two teams traded points to 18-9, before the Wildcats went on a 5-1 run and cut their deficit to 19-14. A kill by Nick Updike gave the Saints a 23-15 cushion. Mottola then served up two-straight points and JWU was forced to call its second timeout of the set at 25-16.
The Wildcats got a strong kill from Edwin Fahnbulleh (Atlanta, Ga.) and an ace from Mark Garlock (East Greenwich, R.I.) to come back to within 8 points at 28-20. A solo block by junior middle Thomas McCaffrey (Massapequa, N.Y.) ended the set with a 30-20 win for the Saints.
Johnson & Wales hung tough early in the third set and knotted the contest at 10-10. EC then took a 13-12 advantage on a solo block by Updike. A McCaffrey kill put the Saints up 16-14. Emmanuel freshman Alex McKeen (Stoughton, Mass.) came off the bench and served off eight-straight points as the Saints took a 25-15 lead. Another kill by McCaffrey brought the score to 27-19 and forced a JWU timeout. Sideout on a hit by Lowe gave the Saints their 29th point and freshman middle Zachary Caron (Hope, R.I.) put the match away with a big kill, as Emmanuel took set three, 30-23.
Updike and Mottola led the Emmanuel offense with 9 and 8 kills, respectively. Rabaino hit .857 with 6 kills in 7 attempts, while McCaffrey, Townsend and Rietz chipped in with 4 kills. Lowe dished out 24 assists for the Saints. Mottola, McKeen and Tom Ramistella (Westport, Conn.) combined for 15 digs, while McCaffrey put down 3 solo blocks to lead the Emmanuel defense.
The Saints will not play their next match until February 3rd. Emmanuel will host Lasell College next Wednesday night at 7pm.
