Men’s Volleyball Unable to Complete Comeback at Kean

UNION, N.J. – Regis College attempted to rally from a 2-0 match deficit by winning the third set, but Kean University rebounded to defeat the Pride, 3-1 (25-19, 25-16, 19-25, 25-19), Friday night in a non-conference men's collegiate volleyball match at Harwood Arena.

Joseph Perez (Miami, Fla.) led the Pride with 12 kills as he hit .300 in the match, while Matt Ferrara (Sandown, N.H.) finished with nine kills and a team-high 10 digs. Brendan Lam (Rockville, Md.) dished out a season-high 28 assists to go along with two service aces and six digs, Josh Nolen (Falls Church, Va.) collected three solo blocks, and Marcello Cappuccio (Scotch Plains, N.J.) contributed nine digs.

Lam scored the first two points of the match with a kill and a service ace, but Kean would put together a 7-2 scoring run to pull ahead, 10-7. The Pride scored the next three points to tie the set before the Cougars responded with four straight points to retake the lead at 14-10. Another 4-0 run extended the Kean lead to 21-14 as the home team eventually clinched the opening set.

Two kills by Quincy Rooi helped the Cougars open an 8-2 lead in the second set, and then they would increase that lead to 15-4 on Rooi's serve with six unanswered points, including consecutive kills by Rahjeem Meulens. The Pride put together a 7-2 scoring run to close to within six points, but Kean would eventually win the set on a kill by Rooi and a block from Meulens and Maxwell Thompson.

Regis battled back, opening a 6-1 lead to start the third set and maintaining that advantage, eventually pulling ahead 22-14 on a solo block by Nolen. The Cougars scored five of the next six points to cut their deficit to four points at 23-19, but the Pride received a kill from Ferrara followed by a Kean attack error to win the third set and extend the match.

The fourth set was the closest of the match with 11 ties and five lead changes leading to a 14-14 standoff. Kean took the lead for good on a kill by Duncan Beilke that started an 8-1 scoring run. The Cougars reached match point on a kill by Rooi, followed by a Regis service error that ended the contest.

Kean (10-5) was led by Beilke with 14 kills and Rooi with 12 kills, two service aces, and eight digs. Zachary Noll ran the Cougar offense, finishing with 34 assists, eight digs, and three block assists, while Thompson led the defense at the net with six total blocks.

Regis (6-8) is off until after Spring Break, when it will host Nichols College Wednesday, March 9, and SUNY Potsdam Friday, March 11, both starting at 7 p.m. at Higgins Court.