Men’s Volleyball Loses to Buffalo State, MIT

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Regis College suffered 3-0 losses to both Buffalo State and host MIT Saturday afternoon in a non-conference men's collegiate volleyball tri-match at Rockwell Cage.

BUFFALO STATE 3, REGIS 0 (25-18, 25-21, 25-20)

Joseph Perez (Miami, Fla.) led the Pride with 12 kills and two service aces, while Brandon Valdes (Miami, Fla.) finished with eight kills and a .500 hitting percentage. Grant Wojcik (Bellingham, Mass.) earned 18 assists and four digs, and Jay Bodhidatta (Bangkok, Thailand) paced the backline with six defensive digs.

Buffalo State (10-10) pulled out to a 12-4 lead in the first set, capped by consecutive kills from Kaden Strong, a service ace by Chris Laboy, and a solo block by Strong. The Bengals extended their lead to as many as 10 points at 18-8 after a kill by Malachi Jackson, and then they closed out the opening set with a kill by Jackson Stang.

Two kills by Laboy helped the Bengals run out to a 4-0 lead in the second set, but the Pride quickly responded with five straight points, featuring a block by Wojcik and John Nangle (Lowell, Mass.). Buffalo State quickly regained the momentum with a 6-2 scoring run and maintained the lead throughout the rest of the set, closing out the second set on a kill by Laboy.

Consecutive kills by Valdes helped the Pride take a 6-3 lead early in the third set, but the Bengals put together a 12-4 scoring run, led by Gavin Wilczewski with three kills. Regis closed to within one point at 19-18 on kills by Perez and Jalen Watt (South Hadley, Mass.), but Buffalo State held off the comeback by closing the match on a 6-2 scoring run, capped by a kill from Laboy and a service ace by Hayden McCue.

Laboy led the Bengals with 13 kills, while Wilczewski finished with 11 kills on a .500 hitting percentage. Stang dished out 27 assists, and Alex Nuez led all players with 10 defensive digs.

MIT 3, REGIS 0 (25-19, 25-23, 25-20)

Perez again paced the Pride offense, this time with 16 kills, as Alessandro DiPaola (Newington, Conn.) took over setting duties and finished with 31 assists along with a team-high nine digs. Eddie Djatcha (Lowell, Mass.) earned six kills, a .500 hitting percentage, and three total blocks, and Orlando Plagata (Los Angeles, Calif.) contributed eight defensive digs.

MIT (13-5) scored the first five points of the match, including two kills by Ryan Espinoza, and then extended its advantage into double figures at 22-12 thanks to a 9-3 scoring run later in the first set. The Pride fought back, putting together a 7-2 scoring run to cut their deficit in half, led by Djatcha and Perez with a kill and a service ace apiece, but the Engineers finally clinched the opening set on a kill by Phillip Johnson.

After a solo block by Michael Rini gave MIT a 7-4 lead in the second set, Regis scored the next three points, punctuated by a solo block from Djatcha. The Pride eventually pulled ahead by two points at 19-17 and still held the lead at 20-19 after a kill by Perez, but the Engineers finally took the lead on kills by Grant Oh and Johnson before closing out the second set on another kill by Oh.

In the third set, consecutive kills by Perez put the Pride on top, 4-2, with the visitors retaking the lead at 8-7. MIT rattled off a 9-4 scoring run, capped by a kill from Nicholas Gustafson and a service ace from Oh. Kills by Grant Oh and Riley Oh brought about match point for the Engineers at 24-17, but the Pride kept battling, scoring the next three points on kills by Perez, Valdes, and Nangle before a kill by Johnson closed out the set and the match for MIT.

Grant Oh led the Engineers with 13 kills, while Johnson earned 12 kills on a .579 hitting percentage. Riley Oh notched a double-double with 37 assists and 10 digs, and Kevin Windsich contributed nine defensive digs to the winning effort.

Regis College (8-9) welcomes the Wentworth Leopards, currently the top team in the national coaches' poll, to Higgins Court for a conference match Wednesday, March 13, beginning at 7 p.m.