CHICOPEE, Mass. – Regis College lost to Elms College, 3-0 (27-25, 25-18, 25-19), Tuesday night in a first round match of the 2022 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Men's Volleyball Tournament at Picknelly Arena.
Josh Nolen (Falls Church, Va.) led the Pride with 13 kills, while Kostea Andreenko (Marstons Mills, Mass.) finished with nine kills, two service aces, and two total blocks. Brendan Lam (Rockville, Md.) dished out 33 assists, and Marcello Cappuccio (Scotch Plains, N.J.) paced the backline with 13 defensive digs.
The opening set was close throughout as neither team was able to extend its lead greater than two points. After two kills by Nolen and a service ace from Nate Asstafan (Woonsocket, R.I.) tied the set at 23-23, the Blazers earned a chance to clinch the set, but a kill by Joseph Perez (Miami, Fla.) extended it. With the score tied at 25-25, Elms forced two Regis attack errors to win the first set.
Regis scored the first three points of the second set on kills by Nolen and Perez as well as a block by Andreenko and Perez, but the Blazers battled back, eventually pulling ahead thanks to four straight points, including kills from Pedro DeJesus, Luis Martinez, and Ben Laxton. Two kills by Moose Perry and consecutive service aces from Carlos Mercado helped increase the Elms lead to 18-12, and the home team would eventually clinch the second set.
Elms (14-14) scored four of the first five points of the third set, but Regis came right back with four straight points, including two service aces by Andreenko. The Blazers retook the lead on consecutive kills by Perry, but the Pride closed to within one thanks to three straight kills by Andreenko. Elms put together a 6-1 scoring run on its way to completing the sweep and advancing to the tournament semifinals.
Mercado notched a double-double with 11 kills and 11 digs, while Martinez finished with nine kills and three service aces. Antonio Delgado Rolon collected 29 assists and eight digs.
Regis College concludes the 2022 season with a 12-17 overall record.