PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The Lesley University men's volleyball team opened day one of play at the Johnson & Wales Invitational with a pair of losses this evening at the Wildcat Center. The Lynx dropped a 3-0 decision to the host Wildcats to open the day before falling to New Jersey City University 3-0 in the nightcap.
Lesley will return to the Wildcat Center for two more matches tomorrow as they kick off the second day of Invitational competition at 10:00a against Emmanuel College before squaring off with Bard College at 12:00p.
Match One: Lesley 0, Johnson & Wales 3 (25-15, 25-10, 25-15)
Box Score
Lesley junior and North Providence native Jacob DiDomenico powered the Lynx attack as he tied a season-high with six kills and two blocks while classmate Tyler Burns (Newton, Pa.) provided four kills and three digs. Senior C. Jay Sutton (Billerica, Mass.) anchored the defense with a team-high eight digs. Junior Jason Hulteen (Galena, Ohio) returned to action for the first time this season after recovering from injury to slam down a pair of kills. Freshman Karuna Chiemruom (Cranston, R.I.) set up the offense with a team-best 13 assists.
JWU freshman Cameron Ponce (San Jose, Calif.) filled the stat sheet for the hosts, finishing with a team-high 11 kills, 11 assists, four digs, one solo block, five block assists, and three service aces. Freshman Alex Seda (San Juan, PR) and junior Brendan Baker (Providence, R.I.) added seven kills apiece and rookie Jason Rhee (Aurora, Colo.) led the Wildcats with 22 assists.
Match Two: Lesley 0, New Jersey City 3 (25-16, 25-11, 25-20)
Box Score
Barletta paced the Lynx in the second match of the evening, connecting for a season-high seven kills while Burns followed with six slams to aid the offense. Barletta also added a season-best five digs while Sutton once again led the defense with seven digs. Chiemruom set a new career-high with 15 assists. The rookie's previous career-best was 13 which he reached in four matches this season.
NJCU senior Sheldon Coure (Redondo Beach, Calif.) led all players with eight kills while sophomore Jalen Sorrell (Edison, N.J.) and senior Ivan Prensa (Jersey City, N.J.) each finished with seven slams for the Knights. Fellow senior Daque Wilcox (Fredericksburg, Va.) added five kills on the offensive side and classmate Raymel Castro (Newark, N.J.) anchored the defense with six digs. Freshman Erick Nascimento (Miami, Fla.) dished out a game-high 16 assists.