Men's Volleyball Loses a Tough Battle at Home to Bard

CHICOPEE, Mass. - The Elms College Men's Volleyball team hosted Bard College in a non-conference match Friday evening at Picknelly Arena.

BASICS
Score: Elms College 0 (22, 21, 21) | Bard College 3 (25, 25, 25)
Records: Blazers 3-8, 0-1 (GNAC) | Raptors 8-7, 0-0 (NEVC)

HOW IT HAPPENED

The opening set would begin with Elms earning an early 3-0 lead, after a kill by sophomore Nick Uschmann (Agawam, Mass.) and three errors by Bard. The Raptors would then score their first point, followed by the two opposing sides trading points, including kills by first year Yazhua Marin Valentin (Springfield, Mass.) and junior Rafa Artero (Madrid, Spain), along with service aces by Uschmann and sophomore Al Sánchez (Guayama, P.R.). Bard would then take the lead, but the Blazers battle back with the help of a kill and service ace from Uschmann. Unfortunately for the home team, the Raptors would control the momentum and would win the first set 25-22.

The second set would once again start with the Elms offensive scoring first, with the help of back-to-back kills by Uschmann and Marin Valentin. The two sides would continue their battle for control of the set, with the Blazers recording kills by Artero, Uschmann, and first year Hunter Ladouceur (Wilbraham, Mass.), along with a service ace by Uschmann, and blocks by Artero, Ladouceur, and Uschmann, but Bard would take the second set 25-21.

Elms would once again earn an early lead in the third and final set, with the assistance of a service ace from Ladouceur and a kill by Uschmann, but the Raptors would continue their attempts to obstruct the Blazers from winning their first set. The two teams would battle for the lead, Elms would capitalize with the help of a service ace from Uschmann and kills by Ladouceur, Uschmann, Sánchez, and Marin Valentin, but Bard would win the third set 25-21, to secure the match and defeat the Blazers 3-0.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Uschmann would make 11 kills, five digs, four service aces, a block, and an assist.

• Ladouceur made 18 assists, six digs, four kills, a service ace, and a block assist.

• Artero generated four kills and a block assist.

• Sánchez added two digs, two assists, a kill, and a service ace.

• Sophomore Sam Moreno (El Paso, Texas) made seven digs and an assist.

• Marin Valentin would create three kills and three digs.

UP NEXT: The Elms Men's Volleyball team will host Lasell University in a conference match on Tuesday, February 25th at 7 pm at Picknelly Arena.

--

For continuing coverage of Elms College Athletics, visit www.ecblazers.com and follow the Blazers on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.