Men's Volleyball Notches First Win On Final Day of JWU Invite

Men's Volleyball Notches First Win On Final Day of JWU Invite

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The Regis (Mass.) men's volleyball team set a new single-match program record for attacking efficiency in notching its first win and earning a split on the final day of the JWU Invitational Saturday morning at the Wildcat Center.

The Pride (1-4) fell in four sets (29-27, 17-25, 25-22, 25-20) to host Johnson & Wales to open the day but claimed its first win with a dominating performance against Bard to close the tournament. The Pride hit a blistering .483 for a new single-game attack percentage mark in winning 25-13, 25-21, 25-18.

Newcomer Wade Robidoux (Granby, Mass.) and Sean Bisnett (Oxnard, Calif.) led the way for the Pride both recording 11 kills and no errors with Robidoux hitting at a .846 clip. Joe Hanrahan (Coventry, R.I.) added 22 assists and a team-high seven digs.

Bard hung around in the opening set before Regis turned it on with a 10-3 run to close out the frame. Set two was a bit more challenging but Robidoux proved to be too much to handle down the stretch. After Bard cut the lead to 21-20, Robidoux took over, ripping four straight kills to clinch the win and set the stage for the sweep.

The win was much needed after the Pride battled but came up short to the host Wildcats to open the day. Bisnett had a team-high 15 kills and Christopher Fitta (Warwick, R.I.) added a match-best 18 digs but the Pride couldn't overcome poor hitting in the third and fourth sets.

Brendan Baker (Providence, R.I.) delivered a match-high 24 kills for the Wildcats.

After narrowly dropping the opening set, Regis evened the match with a strong second-set win. The Pride scored the first six points of the set and never looked back. Aguirre's kill extended the lead to 10-3 and, while JWU would hang around, another pair of Marcos Aguirre (Norwalk, Calif.) kills down the stretch sealed the win.

The Pride had a chance to steal the opening set. Brett Krahl's (Santa Clarita, Calif.) kill put his team up 14-10 but JWU rallied to take a 21-20 lead. Aguirre evened the score with a kill as the teams traded points down the stretch. JWU staved off a pair of set points before Kanila Chang's (Orlando, Fla.) kill gave the Wildcats the win.

The Pride open up New England Collegiate Conference play next Thursday, Feb. 2 against Lesley. First serve at Higgins Court is set for 7:00 p.m.

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