CHICOPEE, Mass. – Elms College senior middle hitter Bryson Rainey (Brookline, Mass.) floored a match-high 27 kills as the Blazers topped Lesley University, 3-1 (25-22, 25-20, 20-25, 25-14) in Saturday afternoon's New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) men's volleyball match at Picknelly Arena. With the win, Elms improves to 6-12 overall, 4-3 in NECC play. Lesley moves to 0-15 on the season, 0-8 in league action.
Rainey delivered his 27 kills on 51 swings with nine errors to hit .353 for the contest. Senior opposite hitter Kordel Latimer (Lynn, Mass.) followed with nine kills and freshman middle hitter Austin DeCosmo (Tolland, Mass.) added seven kills to lead the Blazers' offensive output.
Senior setter Kevin Welsh (Wilbraham, Mass.) dished out 45 assists in the winning effort, while freshman Ian Isgut (San Juan, Puerto Rico) tied for the match-high in digs with 15. Rainey added 14 digs and Latimer totaled nine digs to help spark the victory.
Sophomore middle hitter Cristian Arroyo (Chicopee, Mass.) and freshman middle hitter Dervin Dimanche (Queens, N.Y.) added four kills each while Rainey, Welsh and Latimer added a solo block each.
Lesley was led by the stellar hitting from freshman Tyler Burns (Newtown, Pa.) who tied a career-high with 16 kills and set a new personal mark with 15 digs. Senior Aqib Shah (Watertown, Mass.) also connected for a career-high with six kills while collecting five digs. Classmate Melvin Morales (Chelsea, Mass.) followed six kills, three service aces, and nine digs.
Freshman Mitchel Ulacco (Winchester, Mass.) topped his previous career-best of 26 assists, dishing out 30 in the losing effort. In his third match of the season, Jacob Didomenico (North Providence, R.I.) posted personal-bests with four kills, three digs, and three block assists.
In a tightly contested match, Elms claimed the first two sets before Lesley rallied in the third and posted a 24-18 advantage. The Blazers answered with back-to-back kills by Isgut and Rainey to set the score at 24-20 but a kill by Morales lifted the Lynx to a 25-20 victory in the frame.
In the fourth stanza, Elms bolted out to a 6-0 lead and extended that lead to 13-3. The Lynx rallied for five straight points to pull to within five (13-8) but could get no closer as the Blazers finished the match with a 25-14 win.
The Lynx will kick off a three-game homestand on Monday, March 24th when they welcome NECC foe Regis College. First serve is set for 8:00p at Buckingham, Browne, and Nichols.