Pride Men’s Volleyball Prevails in 3-2 Thriller

WILKES-BARRE, Pa. – In a thrilling match that saw both teams hit .280 or above, Regis College was able to prevail over Wilkes University, 3-2 (30-28, 20-25, 29-27, 21-25, 15-12), Friday night in a non-conference men's collegiate volleyball match at the Marts Center.

Five different Regis players finished with nine or more kills, led by Joseph Perez (Miami, Fla.) with 20 kills along with two service aces and eight digs. Brandon Valdes (Miami, Fla.) collected a season-high 19 kills as he hit .326 in the match, while Andrew Matzouranis (North Andover, Mass.) finished with 13 kills on a .385 hitting percentage. Tyrell Bucasas (Waialua, Hawaii) notched a double-double with 44 assists and 13 digs, John Nangle (Lowell, Mass.) earned 10 kills on a .444 hitting percentage, and Eddie Djatcha (Lowell, Mass.) contributed nine kills.

After the teams split the first four sets, Regis won the first three points of the fifth set on consecutive kills by Perez as well as a kill from Nangle. After Wilkes closed to within one point at 6-5 on a kill by Jackson Shafer, the Pride scored four unanswered points, led by Djatcha with two kills and a block assist as well as Francesco Buanne (Caserta, Italy) with a solo block. The Colonels put together a 7-4 scoring run to close to within two points before a service error clinched the set and the match for Regis.

Wilkes (13-6) scored six of the first seven points of the match, led by Paul Binner with three total blocks, and maintained that advantage for a significant amount of time. Down 22-16 after a kill by Aidan Hunter, the Pride rattled off eight unanswered points, featuring four kills by Perez and two service aces by Malakai DeHuelbes (Tucson, Ariz.), to bring about set point at 24-22.

The Colonels held off the Pride thanks to kills by Hunter and Shafer, and then another kill by Shafer allowed Wilkes to serve for the set at 28-27. However, an attack error tied the set, and then Regis finally clinched the opening set on kills by Valdes and Djatcha.

Wilkes again grabbed the early advantage in the second set, extending its lead to 11-6 on a service ace by Jacob Haller. The Pride scored five of the next six points, featuring consecutive kills by Nangle, to pull within one point at 12-11, but the Colonels answered with their own 5-1 scoring run, capped by a block from Shafer and Jacob Mages. Haller earned a service ace to bring about set point, and the home team finally closed out the set on a kill by Shafer.

The Pride pulled out to a 7-4 lead in the third set thanks in part to kills by Djatcha and Perez, but Wilkes responded with four straight points, starting with a kill and a service ace from Shafer. Neither team held more than a two-point lead the rest of the set, with Wilkes earning four chances to close out the set. Down 27-26, Regis rallied to clinch the third set on a kill by Matzouranis, a service ace from Perez, and a kill by Valdes.

The teams split the first 10 points of the fourth set before Wilkes pulled ahead 13-8, led by Mages with two block assists and a kill as well as Shafer with two kills. The momentum went back and forth throughout the rest of the set, with the Colonels closing out the fourth set on a kill by Shafer to bring about the deciding fifth set.

Shafer led all players with 27 kills, while Zach Shay notched a double-double with 56 assists and 13 digs. Binner contributed 12 kills on a .440 hitting percentage along with five total blocks as Wilkes hit .287 in the match. Regis hit .280 in the match as it finished with 75 kills, 55 digs, and seven team blocks.

Regis College (9-10) remains in the area and will participate in a tri-match at King's College Saturday, March 16, first facing Stevenson at 3 p.m. before taking on the host Monarchs at 5 p.m.