Lyons Take Down Regis in a Back-and-Forth Contest

NORTON, Mass. — Regis College men's volleyball traveled to Wheaton College for a non-conference matchup, where close sets ultimately went in favor of the Lyons, 3-1. The loss drops the Pride to 5-4 overall.

The Pride were led by Adam Bonica, who recorded 11 kills, seven digs, and two aces. Vincent Betonio, John Nangle, and Jalen Watt each contributed six kills, with Nangle adding two blocks. Evan Shank facilitated the offense with 38 assists in the effort. 

For the Lyons, R. Bennett Chiappetta posted a game-high 17 kills, while Jack Kenyon added 15. Jacob Hoy directed the attack with 43 assists en route to the victory.

How it Happened

The Lyons jumped out to a four-point lead before the Pride capitalized on three Lyon errors, capped by a Shank service ace, to halt the momentum and knot the score at 4-4. The Pride briefly took leads following a Bonica ace and then again after a Lyon miscue a few plays later. The Lyons would respond to reclaim the advantage and never led by more than three the rest of the way. The Pride stayed within striking distance and pushed the set down to the wire, as a Bonica kill kept it alive, but the Lyons answered on the next rally to escape with a 25–23 opening-set victory.

Kills from Watt and Bentonio would spark the Pride to take the early 6-2 edge to start the second set. From there the set featured h back-and-forth scoring before Wheaton used a steady offensive run to build a slim mid-set advantage at 15-11. Regis answered behind kills from Bonica and Betonio to stay within reach, trimming the deficit to two late and fighting off a pair of set points. Bonica put down a kill to keep the frame alive at 24–22, but Wheaton responded on the ensuing rally to close out a tightly contested 25–22 set.

The third set followed the flow of the opening two before the Pride capitalized on Lyon errors and a Shank kill to build a five-point lead at 14–9. Regis maintained the cushion until the Lyons mounted a late push, using a 5–1 run to pull within one at 20–19. However, a Shank kill followed by an Eli Dignazio service ace reestablished a three-point advantage and forced a Lyons timeout. It proved to be too little, too late, as back-to-back John Nangle kills sealed the 25–21 set win and pulled the Pride within 2–1 in the match.

The fourth set featured an intense battle with 21 lead changes and 22 ties, keeping the game neck-and-neck throughout. The home team called a timeout late in the set when the score was tied at 21, which proved beneficial as Kenyon stepped up with a pair of crucial kills to secure a 25–21 set victory, clinching the match 3–1.

Inside the Numbers

• Tonight's matchup between the Lyons and the Pride marked the first meeting between the two programs in the Lyons' inaugural season.
• Eric Alteus had a career-high five kills in tonight's effort. 
• Tonight was Evan Shank's fifth outing with 30 or more assists.

Up Next

The Pride return to New York this Saturday, February 7, for a tri-match at SUNY Poly, where they will face Hartwick at 2 p.m. before taking on the host Wildcats at 4 p.m.