WESTON, Mass. - Unable to close out Wednesday night's Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) match in four sets after a 2-1 lead, Emmanuel men's volleyball won the deciding set to claim a 3-2 victory over the Regis Pride in conference action on Higgins Court.
Saints senior Louis Da Silva set a single-match program record with 13 total blocks, the most in any match in Emmanuel men's volleyball history. Junior Michael Shelley finished with a match-high 22 kills to go along with five total blocks and four aces. Fellow junior Trey Guest added 11 kills and eight total blocks. For the Pride, Brandon Valdes led Regis with 13 kills and eight digs while Tyrell Bucasas dished out 20 assists. Jay Bodhidatta contributed 11 digs in the loss.
The first set featured five ties and three lead changes, with each team going point for point until the halfway point of the set. Regis was able to break away from the 14 point tie thanks to a kill frim Bucasas and service error from the Saints, to lead 16-14. After a kill from the visiting team, Regis went on a 6-0 scoring run to lead 22-15. Regis collected its remaining points for the first set with a kill from Robert Burch and Valdes in addition to a service error from the Saints to close the first set, 25-18.
After inching point for point at the start of the second set, Emmanuel broke through with a 7-2 scoring run to lead 17-12. Emmanuel would eventually clinch the second set, 25-18 due to consecutive errors from Regis.
The Saints pulled out to a 8-5 lead in the third set thanks to attack and service errors followed by two kills from Guest, and another kill from Jyles Amirault. Regis collected two points in response to trail by one, however, the Saints put together a 6-0 run to lead 14-7. The Saints took the lead and never looked back, finishing the third set 25-16.
Emmanuel took an early 15-6 lead in the fourth set but was not able to stay on top the rest of the way. After Regis pulled within one point at 19-18 on a service error from the Saints, the teams went point for point on service errors just before Regis capitalized on the opportunity to extend its lead with a kill from Adam Bonica to tie at 24-24. Regis collected its final two points of the set on errors from the Saints with a block by Eddie Djatcha to lead 26-24, sending the match into a deciding fifth set.
Emmanuel took an early 7-2 lead in the final set, however the Pride bounced back within two points of the Saints at 11-9 after a kill from Bonica. Emmanuel extended its offensive insurance to clinch a lead and finish the final set with a 15-11 victory.
Regis College (1-2, 0-1 GNAC)Â is scheduled to host MIT and Fisher on Friday, Jan. 24 at 5:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Emmanuel (2-1, 1-0 GNAC) will host Misericordia University on Saturday, Jan. 25, at 1:00 p.m.
**Portions of this release courtesy Regis Athletic Communications Office
