PRIDE DROP REGULAR SEASON FINALE TO NEWBURY

WESTON, Mass. – Newbury College defeated Regis College, 3-1, in New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) men's volleyball action on Wednesday night in Weston, Mass. The Nighthawks (7-16, 4-7 NECC) used set scores of 25-23, 25-21, 15-25, and 25-14 in the win over the Pride (12-10, 6-6 NECC).

In a pregame ceremony, the Pride honored lone senior Angel Aguilar (Silver Spring, Md.) for his contributions to Regis College and the athletics department. Aguilar finished the night with three digs and a service ace.

The Pride were paced by 14 kills and six digs from Joe Coye (Plaistow, N.H.), and 12 kills and a team-high nine digs from Zach Sindoni (Haverhill, Mass.). Sean Bisnett (Oxnard, Calif.) notched nine kills and six digs, while Joe Hanrahan (Coventry, R.I.) handed out 36 assists and added six digs. John Fuentes (Downey, Calif.) recorded four kills, three aces, and five digs in the setback.

Newbury's Jake Powell (Salinas, Calif.) powered the Nighthawks attack with a match-high 20 kills on a .368 hitting percentage in the win. He also added six digs and a pair of blocks. Freshman Billy Stephen (Windermere, Fla.) joined him in double-figures with 16 kills and nine digs, while Chi Yin Li (Framingham, Mass.) had 15 kills and seven digs of his own. Patrick Robidoux (Barrington, R.I.) posted a double-double of 44 assists and 11 digs, and Stephen Watson (Marina, Calif.) led the Newbury defense with 11 digs.

In the opening set, the Pride held a 13-7 lead before a 9-2 run by the Nighthawks gave the visitors a 16-15 advantage after a Billy Stephen kill. The two teams traded points, and Coye kept the Pride within one at 23-22 and 24-23 with a pair of kills. Chi Yin Li sealed the match for the Nighthawks with his first kill of the night as Newbury took the opening set 25-23.

Jon Fuentes made it a 10-9 game in the second set before three-straight points by the Nighthawks gave the visitors a 13-9 lead that forced a Regis timeout. A Zach Sindoni kill put the Pride down one at 15-14 and the Pride knotted the game at 18-all following a block by Fuentes and Manny Calderon (Briston, Conn.), but Newbury scored seven of the final 10 points in the game to take a commanding 2-0 lead in the match with the 25-21 win.

With their backs against the wall, Regis dominated play in the third game and won the set 25-15 behind five kills from Bisnett, four kills from Sindoni, and three kills from Coye. The Pride swung .333 during the game and notched four service aces.

Unfortunately for Regis, Newbury controlled play in the fourth game as the Nighthawks hit .357 as a team led by seven kills from Chi Yin Li and four from Billy Stephen. NC also had four blocks in the game to help hold the Pride to a -.167 attack percentage en route to the 25-14 win and 3-1 victory in the match.

Regis College wraps up the regular season with a program record 12 wins, which nearly doubles the program's win total (7) dating back to the 2010 season. The Pride have earned the No. 4 seed in the upcoming NECC Tournament and will take on top-seeded Endicott College next Friday. Newbury travels to Endicott on Thursday night for their NECC regular season finale at 7:00 p.m.