Pride Men’s Volleyball Earns Senior Night Victory

WESTON, Mass. - Led in large part by the student-athletes honored before the match in the Senior Night ceremony, Regis College defeated Elms College, 3-0 (25-17, 25-22, 25-23), Tuesday night in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) men's volleyball match at Higgins Court.

Joseph Perez (Miami, Fla.) led the Pride with 16 kills and six service aces, tying his career high, plus he earned seven digs. Alessandro DiPaola (Newington, Conn.) picked up the start at setter and finished with 27 assists and nine digs, while Orlando Plagata (Los Angeles, Calif.) contributed seven digs and six assists. In addition, Chris Huynh (Methuen, Mass.) finished with a season-high 10 kills along with seven digs, and Tyrell Bucasas (Waialua, Hawaii) added 14 assists and eight digs.

Elms scored the first three points of the match, but Regis quickly responded with a 7-1 scoring run, led by two kills each from Huynh and Perez. After the Blazers closed to within one point, the Pride put together a 7-2 scoring run, led by Perez with a kill and two service aces. Following kills by Joey Crain and John Bellefronte, Regis scored five of six points, led by Perez with two kills and a service ace, to close out the opening set.

The Blazers started the second set the same way as the first set with the opening three points before Regis rattled off a 10-3 scoring run, capped by consecutive service aces from Perez. Pedro DeJesus and Bellafronte connected on a block and a kill to pull the Blazers within one point, and then a block by Rafa Artero and Nicholas Uschmann tied the set at 13-13.

With the second set tied at 15-15, Regis went on a 6-2 scoring run to pull ahead, but Elms again battled back, scoring the next three points to pull within one point at 21-20. Robert Burch (Coxsackie, N.Y.) earned two kills to bring about set point, and the Pride would take advantage of a Blazer service error to clinch the set.

Kills by DeJesus, Artero, and Uschmann allowed Elms to pull ahead early in the third set as the Blazers eventually took an 11-6 advantage on consecutive solo blocks by Artero. Down 21-16 after a kill by DeJesus, the Pride fought back with five unanswered points, led by Francesco Buanne (Caserta, Italy) with a block assist and two kills. The Blazers retook the lead at 23-21 before Regis scored the final four points on kills by Buanne, Andrew Matzouranis (North Andover, Mass.), and Perez as well as an Elms attack error.

DeJesus led the Blazers with 13 kills, while Artero finished with six kills on a .500 hitting percentage along with five total blocks. Collin Liedke notched a double-double with 27 assists and 10 digs, and Sam Moreno contributed seven digs to the Elms defensive effort.

Regis College (10-15, 5-6 GNAC) is off from competition until next Thursday, April 4, at Lasell University beginning at 7 p.m. Elms College (6-18, 1-8 GNAC) heads into Boston to face Emerson College this Thursday, March 28, for a 6 p.m. start.