Men’s Volleyball Unable to Complete Comeback at ENC

QUINCY, Mass. - For the second time in four days, Regis College and Eastern Nazarene College went four sets, with the Lions once again prevailing, 3-1 (25-18, 25-23, 14-25, 25-14), Tuesday night in a non-conference men's collegiate volleyball match at the Lahue Athletic Center.

Joseph Perez (Miami, Fla.) and Andrew Matzouranis (North Andover, Mass.) led the Pride with nine kills apiece, while Eddie Djatcha (Lowell, Mass.) finished with eight kills and a .583 hitting percentage. Tyrell Bucasas (Waialua, Hawaii) and Grant Wojcik (Bellingham, Mass.) dished out 16 assists apiece, and Malakai DeHuelbes (Tucson, Ariz.) paced the backline with six defensive digs.

Eastern Nazarene (6-1) took early control of the opening set, scoring the first two points and then putting together a 12-3 scoring run, led by Alejandro Garcia Fernandez with four kills and a service ace, to open a 14-5 advantage. After the teams exchanged three-point streaks, the Pride scored four of five points to pull within six points before Delfy Soler notched two kills to close out the first set.

Jacob Zarges led the Lions to a 5-2 lead in the second set with two kills and two block assists, but Regis battled back to create a tie on five different occasions. After Eastern Nazarene retook the lead and pulled ahead 16-13, the Pride put together a 6-1 scoring run, led by Djatcha with three kills, to jump on top, 19-17. Kills by Matzouranis and Brandon Valdes (Miami, Fla.) pulled the Pride into ties at 22-22 and 23-23, but the Lions scored the final two points of the second set on a kill by Garcia Fernandez and a block from Garcia Fernandez and Matthew Mucha.

Early in the third set, Regis rattled off four straight points and then put together a 14-2 scoring run, including two kills and a solo block by Orlando Plagata (Los Angeles, Calif.), to open a 21-7 advantage. A kill by Matzouranis created set point, but the Lions scored three quick points to extend the set before an Eastern Nazarene service error clinched the third set for the Pride.

Three straight service aces by Garcia Fernandez and three straight kills by Soler allowed the Lions to open an 8-1 lead in the fourth set. The Lions put together a 7-1 scoring run later in the set, brought about match point on kills by Soler and Garcia Fernandez, and closed out the set and the match on a Regis attack error.

Soler and Zarges finished with 12 kills apiece to lead the Lions, while Garcia Fernandez finished with 11 kills, four service aces, and a match-high nine defensive digs. Aaron Huang collected 27 assists and seven digs for Eastern Nazarene.

Regis College (2-3) hosts Manhattanville Friday, Feb. 2, starting at 6 p.m., one hour later than originally scheduled as a time change was agreed upon earlier Tuesday.