Men's Volleyball Comes Back to Beat Curry in Four Sets

MILTON, Mass. - The Elms College Men's Volleyball team traveled to Curry College for a non-conference match Wednesday evening.

BASICS
Score: Elms College 3 (16, 25, 25, 25) | Curry College 3 (25, 25, 25)
Records: Blazers 2-6, 0-1 (GNAC) | Colonels 4-5, 0-0 (NCAA Div. III Ind.)

HOW IT HAPPENED

The opening set would begin with the two intrastate opponents would trade the lead, with the help of two kills by sophomore Nick Uschmann (Agawam, Mass.) and a kill from sophomore Al Sánchez (Guayama, P.R.). The Colonels would then create momentum to gain a six-point lead, but the Blazers offense would be reawakened by the assistance of kills from Uschmann, junior Rafa Artero (Madrid, Spain), and senior Joshua Fernandez Garcia (Canovanas, P.R.), along with a service ace by first year Hunter Ladouceur (Wilbraham, Mass.) to bring the score to 8-11. As the first set continued, Elms would see a kill by Uschmann and a couple errors, but Curry would take the opening set 25-16.

The second set would see the Blazers with the early advantage, gaining offensive motivation after kills by Ladouceur, Uschmann, and first year Yazhua Marin Valentin (Springfield, Mass.). The Colonels would try to rally back to gain the upper hand, but Elms would continue to keep themselves ahead with the help from service aces by Uschmann along with kills by Sánchez, Artero, and Uschmann. The Curry offense would then take the lead momentarily until the Blazers generated a late rally to outscore the Colonels 11-4, with kills from Uschmann, Sánchez, Ladouceur, and Artero, along with a service ace and a block by Artero.

The third set would begin with a Ladouceur service ace, followed by a kill from Uschmann, but Curry would then take over offensively. Shortly thereafter, Elms would find a way to recapture the lead, following kills by Uschmann, Sánchez, Marin Valentin, along with service aces from Sánchez and Artero, and blocks from Fernandez Garcia, Artero, and Marin Valentin to win the third set 25-23.

The fourth and final set would see the Colonels earn the first two points, but the Blazers offense would take over, scoring six points to take the lead, with the help from kills by Ladouceur and Uschmann. Curry would try to create a rally, but Elms would continue to hold on to their lead, scoring an additional 18-points, after kills by Uschmann, Ladoucer, Artero, Sánchez, and Fernandez Garcia, along with blocks by Artero and Ladouceur and a service ace from Ladouceur, to secure the set 25-18, and to win the non-conference match 3-1.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Uschmann would make 22 kills, six digs, a service ace, and an assist.

• Ladouceur made 34 assists, 10 digs, five kills, three service aces, and a block assist.

• Sánchez added 10 digs, five kills, and two service aces.

• Marin Valentin would create five kills, three digs, a service ace, and a block.

• Artero generated five kills, five blocks, three digs, two service aces, and an assist.

• Fernandez Garcia would make nine digs, two kills, and a service ace.

UP NEXT: The Elms Men's Volleyball team will host King's College, Penn. in a non-conference match on Friday, February 14th at 6 pm.

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