BOSTON, Mass. – After losing to Emmanuel College, 3-0 (25-12, 25-21, 25-16), Regis College rebounded and defeated Colby-Sawyer College, 3-0 (25-18, 26-24, 25-21), Saturday in Great Northeast Athletic Conference men's volleyball matches at Andy Yosinoff Court.
Regis 3, Colby-Sawyer 0
Drew Beimel (Redondo Beach, Calif.) led the Pride offensively with 14 kills, while three other players collected five kills each, including Shawn Gamble (Cranston, R.I.), who hit .714 in the match. Brendan Lam (Rockville, Md.) finished with 30 assists, nine digs, and three kills, and Zabdiel Frias (Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico) led the backline with 13 digs.
Colby-Sawyer (7-9, 0-7 GNAC) won the first four points of the match, but Regis quickly struck back with a 10-2 scoring run. The Chargers closed to within two at 19-17 on a kill by Orlando Plagata, but the Pride finished off the set with a 6-1 scoring run, led by Beimel with three kills.
Regis scored the first three points of the second set, but Colby-Sawyer closed to within one at 8-7 on a kill by Patrick Coffey. After the Pride scored four of the next five points, capped by a service ace from Sebastian Valdes (Diamond Bar, Calif.), the Chargers put together a 9-1 scoring run, led by Plagata with three kills, to open a 17-13 advantage.
The Pride responded with a 6-1 scoring run, including a kill and a solo block by Dimitri Stewart (Paterson, N.J.), to briefly retake the lead at 20-19. Each team committed three straight errors before two kills by Coffey tied the set at 24-24. Regis would win the set on a kill and a service ace by Lam.
The Pride scored the first three points of the third set, starting with a service ace by Beimel, but Colby-Sawyer responded later in the set with three kills and a block assist by Coffey to help tie the set at 14-14. Regis rattled off a 6-1 scoring run, capped by a block from Beimel and Stewart, but the Chargers answered with five straight points, punctuated by a block from Coffey and Eric Miller. With three kills, Beimel led the Pride to a final 5-1 scoring run, including a kill on match point.
Coffey led the Chargers with 10 kills and two total blocks, while Plagata finished with six kills and a team-high nine digs. However, Colby-Sawyer committed more attack errors (23) than kills (21) to help Regis pull out the victory.
Emmanuel 3, Regis 0
Matt Ferrara (Haverhill, Mass.) led the Pride with 12 kills and a .320 hitting percentage, while Inelson Alves (Brockton, Mass.) finished with seven kills and a team-high six digs. Lam collected 23 assists and four digs, and Gamble picked up two solo blocks at the net.
The Pride stayed close early in the first set, but Emmanuel would eventually break away thanks to a 10-2 scoring run, led by Erik English with three kills. The Saints would close out the opening set by scoring the final five points, capped by another kill from English.
Regis took a 7-5 lead in the second set on consecutive kills by Beimel, but Emmanuel scored four straight points to pull ahead, 11-9. The Pride tied the set four different times, the last at 21-21, but they could not get over the hump, as the Saints scored the final four points of the set to open a 2-0 match lead.
Ferrara opened the third set with a kill and a block along with Stewart, and the Pride maintained a small lead early in the set. Emmanuel went on an 8-3 scoring run, led by two kills and a service ace by Justyn Schueler, to open a 14-10 lead. After the Pride closed to within four, the Saints clinched the set and the match with five straight points, capped by a kill from Schueler.
Schueler led the Saints with 11 kills, a .375 hitting percentage, and two service aces, while English finished with 10 kills, two service aces, and a team-high seven digs. Seamus McDonagh dished out 34 assists, Mike Kokoros collected nine kills, six digs, and four total blocks, and Alex Silva at the net with five total blocks.
Regis (9-11, 2-7 GNAC) will have a week to prepare for its final stretch of five GNAC matches in eight days, starting with a home tri-match next Saturday, March 30. The Pride will face nationally-ranked Rivier at 10 a.m. and Johnson & Wales at 2 p.m.