WESTON, Mass. - Regis College lost to Nichols College, 3-0 (25-15, 25-15, 25-20), Tuesday night in a non-conference men's collegiate volleyball match at Higgins Court.
Joseph Perez (Miami, Fla.) led the Pride with nine kills, while Robert Burch (Coxsackie, N.Y.) finished with six kills and two block assists. Tyrell Bucasas (Waialua, Hawaii) collected 21 assists and six digs, and Marcello Cappuccio (Scotch Plains, N.J.) paced the Regis defense with 10 digs.
After Burch and John Nangle (Lowell, Mass.) combined on a block to open the match, Nichols put together a 12-3 scoring run, including consecutive kills by Jake Harasyko. A solo block by Francesco Buanne (Caserta, Italy) closed out a quick 5-2 Regis run later in the set, but the Bison pulled ahead by double figures thanks to their own 5-1 scoring stretch, followed by a kill from Tanner Soracco that clinched the opening set.
The Bison scored the first four points of the second set and maintained that margin until the Pride closed to within two points at 15-13 on a kill by Perez and a block by Burch and Buanne. Nichols would rattle off a 9-1 scoring run to pull away and close out the set, featuring a block assist and a service ace by Soracco as well as consecutive kills from Carlos Mercado.
The third set included 11 ties and three lead changes, with the Pride scoring four straight points for an 11-9 advantage. The Bison battled back, taking the lead for good on a kill by Luis Martinez and a service ace from Mercado. After kills by Perez and Logan Sras (Lowell, Mass.) brought Regis within one at 20-19, Nichols put together a 5-1 scoring run to finish the set and the match, capped by a Mercado kill.
Martinez led the Bison with 11 kills and two service aces, plus he earned five digs and two block assists, while Soracco finished with nine kills, a .500 hitting percentage, four digs, and three total blocks. Setter Dylan Urbanski dished out 33 assists and contributed three block assists, as did Dylan Knapp to accompany seven kills and a .545 hitting percentage.
Regis College (1-5) returns to conference play Thursday, Feb. 2, at Emerson College beginning at 7 p.m. Nichols College (4-3) also plays its next matches at Emerson, visiting the Lions Saturday, Feb. 4, for a tri-match also involving MIT.