FRANKLIN, Mass. – February 25, 2023 – The Dean College men's volleyball team was defeated by Emerson and Elms in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) home tri-match on Saturday.
In the day's first match, Emerson defeated Dean, 3-0, by scores of 25-8, 25-11 and 25-14.
Emerson then earned a 3-1 win over Elms by scores of 25-19, 25-23, 24-26 and 25-15.
Elms ended the afternoon with a 3-0 victory over Dean with scores of 25-71, 25-18 and 25-21.
Dean (1-7, 0-3 GNAC) welcomes GNAC foe Rivier on Tuesday at 6 p.m. Emerson (3-8, 3-3 GNAC) hosts Fisher at 7 p.m. on Tuesday. Elms (2-11, 1-3 GNAC) travels to Endicott on Wednesday.
EMERSON 3, DEAN 0 – 25-8, 25-11, 25-14
Sophomore
Nunu Jackson (Fresno, Calif.) had three kills and a couple of blocks to lead Dean. Senior
Tyler Martins (East Providence, R.I.) finished with a team best eight digs to go with five assists and a couple of kills.
Emerson was led by junior Neiko Pittman (Santa Clarita, Calif.). He posted 12 kills on .625 hitting to go with a match-high 10 digs. Senior
Jake Kelley (Westminster, Mass.) registered nine kills on .389 hitting. Sophomore Jack Miessner (Phoenix, Ariz.) added seven kills on 11 attempts to hit .636.
ELMS 3, DEAN 0 – 25-17, 25-18, 25-21
Dean junior
Saski Sayue (Providence, R.I.) came away with eight kills. First-year
Hunter Armitage (Westerly, R.I.), junior
Aaron Fonseca (Cranston, R.I.) and
Tyler Martins each contributed six kills. Martins added 10 digs and 11 assists, while Armitage recorded 15 assists, nine digs and three blocks.
First-year JaIram Rodriguez (Cidra, P.R.) tallied 16 kills to lead the Blazers. Senior Ryan Perry (Holyoke, Mass.) hit .524 to finish with 12 kills and four blocks. First-year Lewis Torres (Vega Baja, P.R.) ran the offense with 39 assists.
The Bulldogs opened the match with an 8-5 lead. Elms then used a 9-1 run to take command of the first set, which featured six ties and four lead changes. Sayue had three kills and three digs for the Bulldogs. Rodriguez had six kills for Elms.
The second set mirrored the first with Elms taking an 8-5 advantage. The Bulldogs responded with a 5-1 run, capped by a Fonseca kill, to take a 10-9 lead. After Dean held a 13-11 lead, the Blazers rattled off five straight points for a 16-13 margin. Kills by Armitage and Sayue brought the Bulldogs to within a point, but Elms finished the set on a 9-3 run for the 25-18 victory. The second had 10 ties and six lead changes.
The third set was much of the same with nine more ties and a couple of lead changes. Dean trailed 12-7 before a 6-point spurt, which included a couple of Sayue kills, to take a 13-12 lead and force an Elms timeout. The Blazers came out of the stoppage with a 5-2 run to retake the lead. Dean was able to come within a point after another Armitage kill at 19-18 but that would be as close as the home team would get. The Bulldogs received three kills apiece in the set from Sayue and Armitage.
