Pride Picks Up Third Straight Win with Sweep of Elms

WESTON, Mass. - The Regis (Mass.) men's volleyball team picked up its third win in as many tries on Wednesday evening, sweeping Elms College (25-22, 25-18, 25-21) in New England Collegiate Conference action at Higgins Court.

With the win, the Pride improves to 7-7 overall on the season, and stays unbeaten in conference play at 3-0. The Blazers fall to 9-7, with a 2-2 mark in the NECC.

The Pride jumped out to a big lead in the opening set to set the tempo for the evening, but their momentum was soon slowed by the visitors. After a Sean Bisnett (Oxnard, Calif.) kill gave the Pride a 19-14 lead, the Blazers went on a 6-1 run to even the score at 20, forcing the Pride to have to earn the 1-0 lead. After the Blazers took a 22-21 edge, junior outside hitter Marcos Aguirre (Norwalk, Calif.) took control of the set and led the Pride to the early advantage. Aguirre had three kills and a block in the Pride's 4-0 run to end the set to put Regis on top.

The beginning of the second set started off back and forth, but the Pride again began to pull away at the midway point of the set. Ahead 11-10, the Pride picked up momentum and went on a 5-1 run thanks to kills from junior Brett Krahl (Santa Clarita, Calif.), Aguirre and Bisnett. The Blazers were unable to get within more than three points for the rest of the set, and the Pride took to the driver's seat, ahead 2-0.

The 10-point mark would prove once again to be the Blazers' Achilles heel in the third set. The Blazers held a 10-8 lead in the set, but the Pride answered the deficit by rattling off 10 of the game's next 13 points and taking a commanding 18-13 lead. The Blazers would again battle back, cutting the deficit to one at 22-21 following blocks from senior Dervin Dimanche (Queens, N.Y.) and junior Daniel Bondarovsky (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil). The Pride would however score the final three points of the game to end the threat and complete the sweep of Elms.

Bisnett finished the night with 13 kills in the win to lead all players, while Aguirre finished with 10. Krahl had an impressive night on both sides of the ball, picking up seven kills and matching a season high with six total blocks. Senior setter Joe Hanrahan continued his strong season dishing the ball, picking up 35 assists on the evening. 

Bondarovsky and junior Gabriel Reis Levy (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) paced the Elms offense on the night, as both players had 12 kills in the defeat. Libero Audrye Alejandro (Las Piedras, P.R.) had 10 digs on the evening defensively for the Blazers.

Next up for the Pride, they will head to Newbury College for a Saturday tri-match against the Nighthawks and future Great Northeast Athletic Conference foe Mount Ida College. The Blazers will return to the court the same day, hosting a tri-match with opponents Lesley and Dean.

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