WESTON, Mass. - After cruising to victory over Fisher College late Friday afternoon, Regis College prevailed in its rematch with American International College Friday night in non-conference men's collegiate volleyball matches at Higgins Court.
REGIS 3, FISHER 0 (25-4, 25-7, 25-7)
Offensively, Jalen Watt (South Hadley, Mass.) led the Pride with 10 kills and a .643 hitting percentage, while Charlie Nguyen (Dorchester, Mass.) finished with five kills and a .571 hitting percentage. Nine different players earned at least one service ace as the Pride combined for 16 service aces, tied for second-most in a single match in program history.
Regis opened the match with four straight points and then put together runs of six straight points, five unanswered points, and nine straight points to close out the first set, featuring three straight service aces from Brandon Valdes (Miami, Fla.). Fisher took an early 4-3 lead in the second set, but the Pride responded with 10 unanswered points, including consecutive service aces from Thomas McCarthy (Yonkers, N.Y.).
Regis eventually clinched the second set on back-to-back kills by Nguyen and a service ace from Orlando Plagata (Los Angeles, Calif.), who also had 18 assists in the contest. After Fisher scored two of the first three points of the third set, the Pride took control with six straight points, followed by two runs of seven unanswered points. Regis finished off the set and the match by inducing two attack errors from the Falcons.
As a team, Regis hit .530 in the match with 39 kills and just four attack errors in 66 attack attempts, fourth-highest in a single match in program history and the highest hitting percentage in five years. In the backline, Younes Suleiman (Brooklyn, N.Y.) occupied the libero position in the second and third sets and finished with a team-high six defensive digs.
REGIS 3, AIC 0 (25-15, 25-23, 27-25)
Joseph Perez (Miami, Fla.) led the Pride with 11 kills, while Valdes finished with 10 kills, three service aces, and five total blocks. Eddie Djatcha (Lowell, Mass.) went 7-for-10 on attack attempts without an error for a .700 hitting percentage, plus he collected six total blocks. Grant Wojcik (Bellingham, Mass.) dished out 31 assists, and Plagata again paced the backline with nine defensive digs.
The teams split the first 14 points of the match, with a kill by Michael Maldonado tying the opening set at 7-7. Regis put together an 8-1 scoring run, led by Valdes with three kills and Andrew Matzouranis (North Andover, Mass.) with two kills and a block assist. After consecutive kills by AIC's Willie Lopez Morales, the Pride scored five straight points, featuring two kills by Perez and two service aces from Valdes. Regis would clinch the first set with a kill by John Nangle (Lowell, Mass.) and a service ace from Wojcik.
Valdes and Djatcha combined on a block and then earned one kill apiece as Regis scored the first four points of the second set. The Pride extended their advantage to as much as eight points at 16-8, but the Yellow Jackets fought back with an 8-2 scoring run.
Perez notched a kill and a service ace to increase the Regis lead back to four points, but a 6-2 scoring stretch for AIC, capped by a service ace from Robert Santana, tied the second set at 22-22. Djatcha and Wojcik combined on a block to bring about set point, and then AIC committed a service error to allow Regis to take a 2-0 match lead.
AIC (1-9) took a 9-7 lead in the third set on a kill by Santana, but Regis responded with four straight points, including a solo block by Djatcha. The teams basically traded points for a while as the set contained 15 ties and four lead changes, with Regis pulling ahead 21-20 on a kill by Perez.
AIC rallied back with four unanswered points, led by three kills from Santana, to bring about set point for the Yellow Jackets at 24-21. Regis called timeout and took advantage of three straight AIC attack errors to retake the lead at 25-24. After a Pride service error, the home team closed out the set and the match on a kill by Matzouranis and a service ace from Nangle.
Santana led the Yellow Jackets with 10 kills and nine digs, while Alejandro Miranda finished with seven kills and six digs. Maldonado contributed 15 assists and five digs, but AIC ended up with just three service aces and two team blocks.
The Pride hit .409 in the first set and finished the match with a .277 hitting percentage. Regis also collected seven service aces and nine team blocks during the match, averaging a season-high 3.0 blocks per set.
Regis College (7-6) returns to conference play Tuesday, Feb. 27, as it travels to Franklin, Mass., to face Dean College starting at 6 p.m. The Pride will close out the month of February at home against Emmanuel College Wednesday, Feb. 28, beginning at 7 p.m.