BOSTON – In their first home matches since February 26, the Emmanuel men's volleyball team (13-10, 6-3 GNAC) secured back-to-back sweeps in Great Northeast Athletic Conference tri-match action on Saturday inside the Jean Yawkey Center. The Saints opened the day with a 3-0 (25-20, 25-18, 25-13) win over Regis (15-10, 3-6 GNAC) before closing out the afternoon with another 3-0 (25-15, 25-18, 25-19) victory against Elms (5-17, 2-6 GNAC).
 
MATCH ONE: Emmanuel 3 - Regis 0 (25-20, 25-18, 25-23)
In the opening match, the Saints jumped out to a strong start, building an early lead after a kill from Nathan Sierra-Suan made the score 6-2. Regis battled back, eventually tying the first set at 16 on a Brandon Valdes ace. Emmanuel responded with a 6-1 run to regain control and closed out the set with a 25-20 win to take a 1-0 match lead.
 
The Saints carried their momentum into the second set, jumping out to a 6-1 lead. Once again, Regis clawed back, closing the gap to 11-10 after an Emmanuel service error. In response, the Saints put together their longest run of the day, scoring seven straight points highlighted by kills from Michael Shelley and Louis Da Silva to build an eight-point advantage. Emmanuel stayed in command the rest of the way, securing a 25-18 win to go up 2-0 in the match.
 
In the third set, neither team led by more than three points until Emmanuel took control with a 4-0 run. The stretch, jump-started by a Regis service error followed by two aces and a kill from Aiden McGowan, gave the Saints an 18-13 lead. Regis rallied to knot the set at 23, but back-to-back errors handed Emmanuel a 25-23 win and the 3-0 victory.
 
Louis Da Silva led the Saints with nine kills on a .727 hitting percentage, while Trey Guest added seven kills. Jehuda Tawalujan fed the hitters with 19 assists in the win. For Regis, Brandon Valdes led the team with 11 kills while Tyrell Bucasas tallied 18 assists in the loss.
 
MATCH TWO: Emmanuel 3 – Elms 0 (25-15, 25-18, 25-19)
The afternoon match began with a kill from Michael Shelley to put the Saints on the front foot early. Emmanuel then began to pull away, extending their lead to 12-6 with Shelley leading the way, tallying three more kills. The Saints continued to build on their lead, closing the set by scoring five of the final six points for a 25-15 win.
 
Back-to-back kills from Louis Da Silva to start the second set gave Emmanuel an early lead that they maintained throughout. A kill from Carlton Cummings later in the set pushed the Saints' advantage to five at 14-9. Emmanuel again closed strong, scoring five of the final six points to take a 2-0 lead in the match with a 25-18 victory.
 
A 5-0 run by the Saints, featuring two kills from Trey Guest and another from Carlton Cummings, gave Emmanuel a commanding lead to start the third set. After an attacking error from the Blazers, the Saints pushed their advantage to 10 at 17-7. Despite a late 4-0 run from Elms, a service error sealed a 25-19 set win and another sweep for Emmanuel.
 
Trey Guest led the Saints with nine kills, followed by Carlton Cummings with eight. Jehuda Tawalujan recorded a match-high 31 assists, while Nick Sciabica added 12 digs in the win. John Bellefronte led the Blazers with a match-high 13 kills, and Nicholas Uschmann contributed 10 kills in the loss.
 
Up next, the Saints will travel to Milton, Mass. for a non-conference match with Curry College on Wednesday (3/26) at 6:00 PM.