BOSTON, Mass. – The Emmanuel College men's volleyball team combined to hit .452 from the floor en route to a 3-0 (25-16, 25-18, 25-10) victory over Elms College, Saturday afternoon at the Jean Yawkey Center Gymnasium. The win propels to Saints to 2-2 in the early goings of the 2014 campaign while the loss drops the Blazers to 2-6 overall on the year.

Emmanuel got out to a fast start in the opening frame to set the tone early for the match. Junior opposite Ryan Kessler (Santa Clarita, Calif.) paced the offensive action with four kills on eight attempts while sophomore Garrett McGarry (Chicago, Ill.) and junior Wyatt Cooper (Ridgefield, Conn.) each chipped in with three kills. The Saints defense forced Elms to hit a negative -.038 in the set as the hosts took the action, 25-16.

Elms showed signs of life early in the second set as both junior middle Angel Castro (Carolina, Puerto Rico) and senior outside hitter Bryson Rainey (Brookline, Mass.) connected on kills early on. The Saints used an offensive surge from junior Austin Cockerill (Darien, Conn.) to take control as the opposite came off the bench to record five kills and two aces in the set.

It was all Emmanuel in the third frame as the Saints hit .529 from the floor while hold the Blazers to a negative -.176 hitting percentage. Junior outside hitter Ashanti Jackson (Sacramento, Calif.) connected on four kills and an ace as the hosts cruised to a 25-10 victory for the match.

Jackson ended the afternoon with a match-high eight kills while Cockerill chipped in with seven. Junior setter Sean Baxley (Saint James, N.Y.) ran a balanced offense, dishing out 35 helpers in the win.

Rainey ended the match with eight kills to pace the Elms effort to go alongside Castro's six kills. Senior setter Kevin Welsh dished out 19 assists throughout the match.

The Saints return to action on Wednesday, Feb. 12 when they host Johnson & Wales University at 8:00 PM in the GNAC opener while the Blazers host Springfield College the same evening at 6:00 PM.