ALBANY, N.Y. - Playing for the first time in nine days, Regis College swept Bard College and Russell Sage College Saturday afternoon in a non-conference men's collegiate volleyball tri-match hosted by the Gators at the Kahl Campus Center.
Regis 3, Bard 0 (25-11, 25-11, 25-21)
Robert Burch (Coxsackie, N.Y.) led the Pride with nine kills, while Joseph Perez (Miami, Fla.) finished with eight kills on 10 attack attempts without an error for an .800 hitting percentage. Alessandro DiPaola (Newington, Conn.) dished out a career-high 22 assists, John Nangle (Lowell, Mass.) collected seven kills on a .583 hitting percentage, and Marcello Cappuccio (Scotch Plains, N.J.) once again paced the Regis defense with nine digs.
The Pride scored the first four points of the opening set and stayed ahead the rest of the way, closing out the first set with an 8-3 scoring run capped by a kill from Francesco Buanne (Caserta, Italy). Led by five kills from Perez, Regis jumped out to a 15-1 lead in the second set and cruised to the set victory to open a 2-0 match advantage.
Bard stayed with Regis in the third set, pulling into a 12-12 tie on consecutive service aces by Georgi Chikolov. The Pride scored six of the next seven points to take the lead in the set for good, eventually closing out the match on kills by Logan Sras (Lowell, Mass.) and Chris Huynh (Methuen, Mass.).
Angel Obergh led the Raptors with four kills and three service aces, but the Pride held Bard to a negative hitting percentage in the match. On the other side, Regis hit .500 in the match with 39 kills on 66 attack attempts with just six attack errors, the sixth-highest team hitting percentage in a single match in program history.
Regis 3, Sage 0 (25-15, 25-10, 25-20)
Buanne led the Pride with nine kills, a .615 hitting percentage, and three block assists, while Nangle finished with six kills and two block assists. Tyrell Bucasas (Waialua, Hawaii) earned 16 assists in two sets, with DiPaola collecting seven assists and two service aces in one set. Defensively, Cappuccio again led Regis with five digs.
Sage scored the first point of the match on a kill by Ryan Jennings, but Regis quickly took control with four straight points. The Gators closed to within two points at 15-13 on a block by Andrew Samson and Elijah Tortorici, but the Pride clinched the opening set thanks to a 10-2 scoring run, capped by a Bucasas service ace.
The Pride scored the first five points of the second set, collected six unanswered points to increase their lead to 12-2, and then rattled off seven straight points to open a 22-5 advantage. Tortorici collected two kills and a block assist late in the set, but Regis closed out the second set thanks in part to two Buanne kills.
Regis opened the third set with five straight points, but the Gators scored the next three points to stay close, eventually pulling to within one point at 16-15 on a kill by Tortorici and a block by Samson and Jack McWilliam. The Pride held off the Sage rally, starting with two kills from Nangle and concluding the match on a Gator service error.
Tortorici led all players with 10 kills as Ryan Jennings dished out 19 assists for the Gators.
Regis College (4-5) returns to conference play with a home match against Rivier University Wednesday, Feb. 15, starting at 7:30 p.m. It is Student Leader Appreciation Night, as Orientation Leaders, Pride Guides, Resident Advisors, and Team Captains will be recognized between sets two and three.