Regis Men’s Volleyball Sweeps Dean

FRANKLIN, Mass. - Regis College earned its fifth victory over the last six matches, defeating Dean College, 3-0 (25-6, 25-19, 25-18), Tuesday night in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) men's volleyball match at Pieri Gymnasium.

Brandon Valdes (Miami, Fla.) and Jalen Watt (South Hadley, Mass.) led the Pride with eight kills apiece, with Watt posting a .438 hitting percentage and also collecting three service aces, five digs, and five total blocks. Grant Wojcik (Bellingham, Mass.) collected 23 assists and two aces during the first two sets before Alessandro DiPaola (Newington, Conn.) took over setting duties in the third set and finished with 10 assists.

The Pride quickly jumped on the scoreboard in the first set with kills from Joseph Perez (Miami, Fla.) and John Nangle (Lowell, Mass.) as well as a service ace from Wojcik. Regis rattled off seven straight points midway through the set, led by three kills from Watt and two service aces from Jay Bodhidatta (Bangkok, Thailand). After consecutive kills from Hunter Armitage and Nunu Coward-Jackson of Dean, Regis scored the final six points of the opening set to pull ahead in the match, 1-0.

Regis took an 8-3 lead in the second set thanks to back-to-back kills by Eddie Djatcha (Lowell, Mass.) as well as a kill and a service ace from Watt. The Bulldogs scored four unanswered points, including a service ace from Armitage, to pull within one point, but Watt notched a kill and consecutive service aces to extend the Regis lead back to four points at 17-13. After a block by Coward-Jackson and Maccus Dinsmore, the Pride scored the final four points of the second set, starting with a kill and a service ace from Valdes and capped by kills from Watt and Orlando Plagata (Los Angeles, Calif.).

Dean (3-7, 0-4 GNAC) put together a 7-1 scoring run in the third set, including service aces by Arthur Felicio and Mike Nelson, to open an 11-8 advantage, but Regis responded with five straight points, punctuated by a solo block from Watt. The Bulldogs briefly regained the lead thanks a kill by Armitage and another block from Coward-Jackson and Dinsmore, but the Pride took control with an 8-1 scoring run, led by two kills and a block assist apiece from Andrew Matzouranis (North Andover, Mass.) and Chris Huynh (Methuen, Mass.). Regis clinched the set and the match on a kill by Djatcha.

Armitage went 4-for-5 in attack attempts for the Bulldogs along with nine assists and four digs, while Luis Castillo led all players with eight defensive digs. However, for the fourth straight match, Regis hit over .270 as a team, finishing with a .338 hitting percentage along with 16 service aces and six team blocks.

Regis College (8-6, 4-1 GNAC) closes out the month of February at home against Emmanuel College Wednesday, Feb. 28, beginning at 7 p.m. The Pride will look to avenge a loss to the Saints Feb. 17 in Boston.