CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The Emerson College men's volleyball team hit a robust .520 from the floor as they rolled to a season-opening 3-0 (25-9, 25-4, 25-9) win over Lesley University tonight in NCAA Division III Men's Volleyball action tonight at Buckingham, Browne, and Nichols. The Lions open up the season at 1-0 for the third straight season while the Lynx fall to 0-1 to open their 2014 campaign.
Freshman Devin McIntyre (Newtown, Pa.), junior Connor Burton (Valencia, Calif.), and sophomore Jackson Wiley (Los Angeles, Calif.) each finished with seven kills to lead the Lions offense while freshman Stanson Afoa (Anchorage, Ak) chipped in with five kills. Sophomore setter Brendan McGonigle (Los Angeles, Calif.) dished out a match-high 28 assists and six asces.
Freshman Tyler Burns (Newtown, Pa.) led the Lynx attack as he finished with seven kills. Classmate Mitchel Ulacco (Winchester, Mass.) handed out a team-high seven assists while sophomore setter CJ Sutton (Billerica, Mass.) dug out a team-high four balls.
The Lions rode Wiley's serve in the early goings of the first set as they jumped out to a 9-1 edge. The Lynx tried to climb back into things, scoring six of the next ten points before the Lions went on a 12-3 run to close the opening set. McGonigle finished the 25-9 first with consecutive aces.
McGonigle continued his torrid serving to open the second, landing three aces to lead the Lions to a 10-0 advantage before rolling to the 25-4 set win.
The momentum continued to build for the visitors as they jumped out to a 15-1 lead to start the third set. Late in the set with the Lions leading 20-3, the Lynx put together a 5-2 streak, but it was too little too late as Emerson grabbed a 25-9 victory and the three set shutout.
The Lynx return to action on Monday, January 27th when they play the front end of a home-and-home series with Mount Ida College. The match is set to begin at 8:00p. The Lions will travel to MIT on Saturday, January 23rd for a tri-match with the Engineers and the Nighthawks of Newbury College. Their first match will begin at 11:00a.