REGIS MOVES TO 4-2 IN NECC, BEATS NEWBURY 3-1

BROOKLINE, Mass. – The Regis College men's volleyball team defeated Newbury College in four sets, 3-1, in New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) action, Thursday evening. Sophomore utility Marcos Aguirre (Norwalk, Calif.) led three in double figures notching a match-high 17 kills on 32 attempts with just six errors to take the season series from the Nighthawks.

Hitting a staggering .591 as team, Regis jumped out to the 1-0 match advantage taking first set by a convincing, 25-14 score. Sophomore middle blocker Brett Krahl (Santa Clarita, Calif.) ignited the Pride offense and a 10-1 run with one of his, set-high, five kills. During the stretch with junior outside hitter Sean Bisnett (Oxnard, Calif.) serving, the Pride went off a 7-0 run to take the 21-7 lead and they never looked back.

Momentum remained on the Pride's side at the start of game two. Bisnett capped off a 7-2 run with a kill to open the second set and force second year Head Coach Mark Thomas to call his first time of the set. The Nighthawks clawed their way back, pulling to within four points of the lead before the Pride extended their lead once again, aided by another long run to widen the gap.

When it appeared as if the Pride was going to take the second set with ease, leading by nine, 24-15, the Nighthawks did not shy away from a challenge. Following a service error by Aguirre, Newbury took advantage by a plethora of attack errors by the Regis offense with a 7-0 run, to pull to within two points, 24-22. It was not enough as Bisnett ended the Nighthawk threat with a kill to take the game two, 25-22 and put the Pride up 2-0.

With their backs against the wall, the Nighthawks dug deep and kept the match going edging out the Pride, 25-23, in the third set. Late in the game and the matched at a 20-20, sophomore middle hitter Wade Robidoux (Agawam, Mass.) registered back-to-back kills to take the two-point, 22-20 lead. Robidoux's kills lit a fire under the offense as they did not look back and took game three.

However, Regis responded and took the fourth set and the match by a score of 25-17. Aguirre and Bisnett combined to recorded seven kills on 16 attempts while Krahl was a beast at the net, registering three total blocks in the set to finish with four on the evening.

The trio of Krahl, Aguirre and Bisnett combined to hit .341 on the night, tallying 40 kills on 82 attempts with just 12 errors. Bisnett followed up Aguirre notching 13 kills on 28 attempts and three errors for a match-best .357 attack percentage while Krahl followed up with 10 kills on 22 attempts.

Robidoux led the Nighthawks tallying a team-high 15 kills on 32 attempts while recording two block assists. Fellow middle hitter Skyelar Whitehead (Belchertown, Mass.) also posted two blocks while classmate, Luis Aranda followed up Robidoux with nine kills on the night.

Newbury drops to 2-13 and 0-4 in conference while Regis improves to 4-9 and 4-2 in the NECC. The Nighthawks return to the hard-court this Saturday, February 27th when they travel to Chicopee, Mass. for a tri-match against NECC foe Elms College and non-conference MIT at 12:00 p.m. The Pride will be back in action next Tuesday evening, March 1st, when they host non-conference Emerson College at 6:00 p.m.

Release Courtesy of Newbury College Sports Information