Posted: Jan 16, 2010
BOSTON, Mass. – Emmanuel College opened the 2010 men's volleyball season with a 3-2 win over visting Endicott on Saturday afternoon in Boston, Mass. The match was the first of three in a non-conference tri-match played in the Jean Yawkey Center. Based on the Preseason Coaches’ Poll, both Endicott and Emmanuel were predicted to finish second in their respective divisions of the North East Collegiate Volleyball Association (NECVA). The Saints topped the Gulls in five sets, 26-30, 30-25, 30-27, 24-30, 19-17.
The Saints trailed 18-8 early in the opener. Emmanuel made a late run, but dropped the first set, 30-26. A back-and-forth second set broke open when back-to-back aces from junior Curtis Abram (San Luis Obispo, Calif.) gave Emmanuel a 28-24 edge. A defensive error by the Saints pushed the Gulls to 25 points, before consecutive kills from outside hitters Michael Townsend (Beaverdam, Va.) and Tyson Rietz (Granite Bay, Calif.) gave Emmanuel the 30-25 win.
In the third set, Emmanuel took a 6-3 lead on monster kill by Rietz. The Saints held a fairly consistent two-point advantage early in the set and led 11-9, before the Gulls rattled off three-straight points. The Gulls took control of the board on a blocking error by the Saints and Endicott went ahead, 12-11. The two teams traded points until Emmanuel went up 21-18 on a serving error by Endicott. A big hit by Townsend gave the Saints a 22-18 lead. Endicott’s \#A.J. Witkofsky\# (Scotia, N.Y.) matched the kill and the Gulls trailed 22-19.
A receiving error by the Gulls and a kill from Cam Todd (Los Angeles, Calif.) forced an Endicott timeout with the score at 24-19 in favor of the Saints. The Gulls came out of the timeout and got a kill from \#John Emery\# (Westford, Mass.), before Townsend put one away to bring the score to 25-20. Junior \#Jordan Durant\# (Honolulu, Hawaii) put down back-to-back balls for the Gulls to bring the spread to 25-22. An Emmanuel block and an ace from freshman Nick Updike (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) gave the Saints a five-point lead, 27-22. An Emmanuel service error, followed by a hitting error gave the Gulls two more points, 27-24.
A kill from Rietz and one from Witkofsky brought the score to 28-25. An Endicott error at the net gave the Saints their first chance at set point, 29-25. Two Emmanuel hitting errors cut the Endicott deficit to 29-27, before Emmanuel sophomore Alexander Petty (Wayland, Mass.) gave the Saints the 30-27 win with a kill from the right side. With the match score at 2-1, the two teams headed into the fourth set.
In the fourth set, a five-point advantage by the Gulls at 14-9, forced Emmanuel to call its first timeout. The two teams traded points with Endicott maintaining its five-point spread at 16-11. Freshman hitter \#Matt Devendorf\# (Glastonbury, Conn.) recorded a big kill and a solo block for the Gulls and gave Endicott an 18-11 lead. An Emmanuel ball handling error and a hitting error gave the Gulls their largest lead of the set, 20-11, and forced another timeout by the Saints.
A kill from Witkofsky put Endicott up 25-14 in the fourth. Kills by Townsend and Todd gave Emmanuel its 17th and 18th points of the match. Another Townsend kill cut the deficit to 27-19. An Emmanuel serving error forced a 28-19 margin, before Thomas McCaffrey (Massapequa, N.Y.) put down a kill and a solo block for Emmanuel, cutting the deficit to 28-21. Blocks by Abram and Petty gave the Saints their 22nd and 23rd points. The fourth set ended on a blocking error by the Saints at 30-24 and forced a fifth and deciding set.
The two teams traded courts in the fifth set with Endicott leading, 8-5. The Gulls took a 10-7 lead and forced a timeout by the Saints. Two long hits by Endicott cut the margin to 10-9. An Emmanuel blocking error, followed by a hitting error, gave the Gulls a 12-9 edge. A Townsend kill and a blocking error by the Gulls brought the score to 12-11, Endicott. Another long hit by the Gulls, knotted the match at 12-12, and forced an Endicott timeout.
A Rietz kill gave Emmanuel its first lead of the set, 13-12. Witkofsky evened the score again at 13-13 with a kill of his own. A kill by Abram gave the Saints match-point at 14-13, however a Kill by Emery knotted the match at 14-14. A huge block by Endicott’s \#James Silva\# (Monroe, Conn.) gave the Gulls match-point at 15-14. Another kill from Abram brought the set to its fourth tie at 15-15. A solo block by Abram gave the Saints their second match point at 16-15. A point for the Gulls forced the 5th tie of the set (16-16). A kill down the middle from McCaffrey put Emmanuel up 17-16.
Endicott forced another tie at 17-17, before Townsend put one away for an 18-17 Emmanuel lead. Sean O’Connor (Hampstead, N.H.) served up the fourth match-point for Emmanuel and the heated battle ended on a hitting error by the Gulls.
For the Saints, Townsend led four Emmanuel players in double-figures for kills. He posted 19 kills and gathered 9 digs. Abram notched 18 kills, 6 blocks and 3 aces, while Rietz played a solid all-around match with 15 kills, 11 digs, 4 blocks and 2 aces. Todd and Petty chipped in with 11 and 6 kills respectively. Defensively, McCaffrey had 4.5 blocks, while Jake DeLuise (Wakefield, R.I.) picked up 11 digs. Setters O’Connor and Updike dished out 35 and 34 assists, respectively, in the win.
Release Courtesy of Emmanuel Sports Information
