Feb. 6, 2011

Box Score

Emmanuel College sophomore Nick Updike tallied his 1,000th career assist for the Saints as the hometown team grabbed a 3-0 victory over visiting Albertus Magnus College on Sunday afternoon at the Jean Yawkey Center in Boston, Mass. The win gives the Saints an 8-2 overall record on the season with the Falcons falling to 0-5.

The Saints jumped out to an early lead in the first set and didn't look back. Updike gave the Saints an edge while on serve, tallying a string of aces to help the hosts to a 20-4 lead in the opening frame. Senior Curtis Abram (San Luis Obispo, Calif.) added additional service aces the Emmanuel with the home team keeping the pressure on the Falcons. Albertus Magnus showed some life with a strong block by freshman Jeff Tierney (Hamden, Conn.) to return the serve to the visitors, but the Saints pressure would prove to be too much and they would take the first set, 25-6.

Riding their momentum from the first set, the Saints opened the second frame with a quick 6-0 edge over the Falcons. Continuously solid all-around play by Emmanuel helped it push the lead to 13-1 with Abram adding more service aces for the Saints, who ultimately held on for a 25-7, second set win.

Towards the end of the set, Updike reached a career milestone for the Saints, notching his 1,000th career assist for Emmanuel. Play was momentarily stopped for Head Coach Adam Martel and the crowd to honor Updike.

The Saints started out the third set with a bang as seniors Keoni Rabaino (Tucson, Ariz.) and Cam Todd (Los Angeles, Calif.) combined for a powerful block at the net to propel Emmanuel to an 8-5 edge early on. The hosts extended their edge to 16-8 with senior Tyson Reitz (Granite Bay, Calif.) grabbing two straight aces for the Saints in the process. Junior Mike DelSignore (Narragansett, R.I.) jumped in on the action with a key block at the net as Emmanuel won the set, 25-11 and took the match in straight sets.

Emmanuel will take the court again this afternoon to play Lesley University at 4:00 p.m.