Men’s Volleyball Opens 2024 Season with Tough Loss

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - Despite a blistering offensive performance from senior Joseph Perez (Miami, Fla.), Regis College was unable to hold a 2-1 match lead as AIC rallied for a 3-2 victory (18-25, 30-28, 21-25, 25-18, 15-11) Thursday in a non-conference men's collegiate volleyball match at Henry Butova Gymnasium.

Perez led all players with 25 kills, the second-highest single match total in Regis history and just two kills off his school record of 27 kills set against Emerson last season. He also collected eight digs, with Orlando Plagata (Los Angeles, Calif.) leading the team with 10 defensive digs. Brandon Valdes (Miami, Fla.) collected nine kills, Tyrell Bucasas (Waialua, Hawaii) tied his career high with 44 assists, and Andrew Matzouranis (North Andover, Mass.) finished with eight kills, four digs, and four total blocks.

The Pride opened the match by scoring seven of the first eight points, but AIC was able to battle back within three points, 10-7. Regis rattled off four straight points, including consecutive service aces by Francesco Buanne (Caserta, Italy), and then maintained its advantage by trading points with the Yellow Jackets during the rest of the set, closing it out on a kill by Matzouranis.

The second set featured 22 ties and six lead changes as the two teams battled into extra points. Regis had two chances to close out the set before AIC created three chances of its own that were stopped by the Pride, twice on Perez kills and once on a kill by Valdes. The Yellow Jackets finally clinched the second set on their fourth opportunity thanks to a kill by John Rivera Ortiz and a block by Michael Maldonado and Collin Doyle.

Regis took control of the third set with four straight points to take an 8-5 lead, featuring two kills by Perez and two blocks involving Matzouranis. The Yellow Jackets battled back, eventually tying the set at 20-20 on kills by Robert Santana and Isaiah Lee. The Pride would score five of the final six points of the set, including solo blocks by Perez and Buanne and capped by a Perez kill.

After Regis took an early 5-3 lead in the fourth set on a kill by Matzouranis, AIC scored four straight points, including two kills by Pedro Panelli, but the Pride responded with four straight points of their own. A Perez kill tied the set at 14-14, but AIC would put together a 9-3 scoring run, led by Lee with two kills and a block assist, to open a 23-17 advantage. The Yellow Jackets would force the deciding fifth set on kills by Rivera Ortiz and Lee.

Buanne notched a kill to tie the fifth set at 5-5, but two kills from Lee helped AIC open an 8-5 advantage as the teams switched sides. Regis pulled to within one point at 11-10 on consecutive kills by Perez, but the Yellow Jackets closed out the set and the match with a 4-1 scoring run, capped by a kill from Lee.

Rivera Ortiz led the Yellow Jackets, notching a double-double with 18 kills and 12 digs, while Lee finished with 17 kills and five total blocks. Maldonado dished out 41 assists and earned two service aces, Santana contributed 10 kills and five digs, and Doyle also collected five total blocks during the match.

In the 2024 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Men's Volleyball Coaches' Poll announced earlier Thursday, the Pride finished in fifth place with 29 total points, two points in front of sixth place Emerson. Defending GNAC champion and nationally ranked Wentworth received six first place votes to top the poll with 62 points, followed by Lasell with the other two first place votes and 58 points overall.

Regis College (0-1) plays its first of 14 matches within the GNAC next Friday, Jan. 19, at Elms College starting at 7 p.m. The Pride open their home schedule with a tri-match Saturday, Jan. 27, facing Dean College at 11 a.m. and Eastern Nazarene at 3 p.m.