Regis Men’s Volleyball Earns First Win of 2022, 3-1

WESTON, Mass. – Regis College picked up its first win of the 2022 season, defeating Eastern Nazarene College, 3-1 (25-19, 23-25, 25-23, 25-22), Friday night in a non-conference men's collegiate volleyball match at Higgins Court.

Matt Ferrara (Sandown, N.H.) and Joseph Perez (Miami, Fla.) led the Pride offensively with 11 kills apiece, with Ferrara also earning seven digs and five block assists and Perez contributing three service aces and seven digs. Tyrell Bucasas (Waialua, Hawaii) accumulated 21 assists and six digs, while Brendan Lam (Rockville, Md.) added 16 assists and seven digs. Defensively, Kostea Andreenko (Marstons Mills, Mass.) led the team at the net with eight total blocks, and Marcello Cappuccio (Scotch Plains, N.J.) paced the backline with 11 digs.

Eastern Nazarene scored four of the first five points of the match before Regis pulled ahead thanks to an 8-1 scoring run. The Pride extended their lead to 19-12 on consecutive blocks, both involving Josh Nolen (Falls Church, Va.), but the Lions closed to within four at 19-15 on back-to-back service aces by Jacob Zarges. A block by Andreenko and Brendan Carroll (Natick, Mass.) brought about set point, and the Pride would clinch the first set on a Lion attack error.

In the second set, Regis raced out to a 5-1 lead, punctuated by a block from Andreenko and Ferrara. Down 12-8, the Lions put together an 8-3 scoring run to take a brief lead, but the Pride reestablished their advantage at 20-17 on a service ace by Ferrara. Eastern Nazarene would score five of the final six points of the set, capped by consecutive blocks involving Nick Thibeau.

Consecutive kills by Carroll early in the third set put the Pride ahead, 6-4, but the Lions would take advantage of Regis miscues to pull ahead, 10-9. In a set that featured 14 ties and nine lead changes, each team notched quick three-point runs late in the set before the Pride gained control on a service ace by Perez and a kill by Andreenko. After a kill by Alejandro Garcia Fernandez extended the set, Nolen notched a kill to give Regis a 2-1 match lead.

The Lions gained the early advantage in the fourth set, taking the lead on consecutive kills by Matthew Mucha and extending it to as many as five points at 15-10 on a kill from Delfy Soler. The Pride scored five unanswered points, capped by a block from Andreenko and Robert Burch (Coxsackie, N.Y.), and then took the lead for good late in the set on a kill from Carroll. Regis finished off the set and the match on kills by Ferrara and Nolen.

Garcia Fernandez led the Lions with 16 kills, while Soler ended up with eight kills and nine defensive digs. ENC setter Aaron Huang collected 27 assists and eight digs, Thibeau paced the Lions at the net with five total blocks, and Fernando Paredes contributed a team-high 10 digs while not committing a reception error in 22 chances.

Regis College (1-2) returns to conference play with a road match at Rivier University Wednesday, Feb. 2, starting at 7 p.m. Eastern Nazarene (1-5) hosts Wentworth Tuesday, Feb. 1, beginning at 7 p.m.