WESTON, Mass. - Senior setter Joe Hanrahan (Coventry, R.I.) had a Senior Day to be remembered as he became the first player in program history to record his 2,000th assist leading the Regis (Mass.) men's volleyball team to a sweep of Eastern Nazarene (25-15, 25-18, 25-12) on Saturday afternoon at Higgins Court.
With the win, the Pride moves to 13-12 (8-1 New England Collegiate Conference) on the season, while Eastern Nazarene falls to 11-9 (5-7 NECC) in its inaugural season.
Before the game, the Regis Athletic Department honored Hanrahan, outside hitter Sean Bisnett (Oxnard, Calif.) and libero Jon Fuentes (Downey, Calif.), the men's volleyball Class of 2017. The three were joined on the court by their families and were presented with their framed game-worn jerseys from early on in their careers with the Pride.
Once the match got under way, the Pride got out to a flying start to take command of the match from the outset. After conceding the match's first two points, the Pride, led by four kills from Bisnett, scored 10 of the next 11 points to take a 10-3 lead. The Pride continued to pull away in the set, until clinching it on a kill from junior Marcos Aguirre (Norwalk, Calif.).
Hanrahan's milestone assist came on an Aguirre kill to tie the score at 6-6 in the second set. The point came in the middle of a Pride 6-1 run, after the Lions had jumped out to a quick 5-2 lead in the set. Later in the set, with the scored again tied, this time at 12-12, Regis went on a dominating 12-2 run to go ahead 24-14. The Lions refused to go down easily once the Pride reached set point, but the deficit was too much to overcome. After a 4-0 Lion run, Bisnett put the Pride on top by a pair with a set-clinching kill.
The Pride left no doubt in the third set to clinch their eighth NECC victory of the season. The Pride opened the set on a 14-2 run and never looked back, closing out the match with a 25-12 third set victory.
Bisnett led all players on the afternoon with a season-high 18 kills on his Senior Day. The new member of the 2,000 assist club, Hanrahan dished out 33 assists in the win and now has 2,017 for his career. Leading Eastern Nazarene was junior outside hitter Kenny Sorensen (Quincy, Mass.), who recorded 10 kills in the losing effort.
Next up for the Pride, they will travel to Lesley University for a Monday night matchup against the Lynx at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Nazarene's next matchup will also be against the Lynx, as the Lions conclude their inaugural regular season on Thursday night at Lesley.
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