Men’s Volleyball Cruises in GNAC Opener

CHICOPEE, Mass. – Thanks to a solid effort by several players, Regis College defeated Elms College, 3-0 (25-19, 25-15, 25-22), Friday night in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) men's volleyball match at Picknelly Arena.

Andrew Matzouranis (North Andover, Mass.) led the Pride with 11 kills and a .556 hitting percentage, while Joseph Perez (Miami, Fla.) finished with 10 kills, two service aces, and eight digs. Francesco Buanne (Caserta, Italy) collected nine kills on 18 attack attempts without an error for a .500 hitting percentage along with three service aces and four total blocks, and Orlando Plagata (Los Angeles, Calif.) paced the Regis backline with nine digs.

In the opening set, Matzouranis earned a kill and a service ace to help the Pride open a 10-6 advantage, but the Blazers worked their way back and eventually pulled ahead by one point on three different occasions. Down 17-16, Regis closed out the first set with a 9-2 scoring run, led by Buanne with two kills, two block assists, and a service ace to clinch the set.

Two kills by Buanne and two kills from Perez helped the Pride take control in the second set thanks to an early 5-1 scoring run. After Regis extended its lead into double figures with a 6-1 scoring run, Elms battled back with three straight points, but the Pride held off the Blazers, clinching the second set on a service ace by Tyrell Bucasas (Waialua, Hawaii), who finished the match with 30 assists and five digs.

Consecutive service aces by Buanne allowed the Pride to open a 10-6 lead in the third set, but Elms again battled back, tying the set at 11-11 on a block by John Bellafronte and Pedro Dejesus. Regis went back on top, but the Blazers answered again, this time with three straight kills by Nicholas Uschmann as well as one kill from Collin Liedke to tie the set at 20-20.

With the third set tied for the eighth time at 22-22 after a kill by Dejesus, Regis closed out the match with three straight points on a kill by Perez, an attack error by Elms, and a block by Buanne and Matzouranis.

Dejesus led the Blazers with 10 kills, while Uschmann finished with nine kills, a .364 hitting percentage, and eight digs. Liedke notched a double-double with 18 assists and 11 defensive digs, but Elms managed only two service aces and one team block while Regis finished with nine service aces and five team blocks.

Regis College (1-1, 1-0 GNAC) opens its home schedule with a tri-match next Saturday, Jan. 27, first facing conference foe Dean at 11 a.m. before taking on regional rival Eastern Nazarene at 3 p.m.