Men's Volleyball Extends Win Streak with a Sweep Victory Over Fisher

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

BASICS
Score: Elms College 3 (25, 25, 25) | Fisher College 0 (13, 7, 15)
Records: Blazers 9-2, 0-0 (GNAC) | Falcons 0-5, 0-0 (NAIA)

HOW IT HAPPENED

The first set would see Fisher scoring the first point of the evening, but Elms would quickly take control of the match, seeing kills by first year Joe Culhane (Agawam, Mass.), junior John Bellafronte (Enfield, Conn.), and senior Rafa Artero (Madrid, Spain), along with a Bellafronte service ace. As the opening set would continue, Artero would add a kill and a service ace, followed by a kill and a service ace from Culhane, and kills by first year Juan Jones (Springfield, Mass.) and Bellafronte. The Falcons would continue to add some points to their side of the scoreboard, but the Blazers would win the the first set, with the assistance of a combined five service aces by first year Xavier Lozado (Springfield, Mass.) and senior David Tompkins (Groton, Conn.), along with four kills from Artero and Jones, 25-13.

The second set would begin with Elms earning four-straight points with first year David Dzhenzherukha (Agawam, Mass.) adding two service aces and a kill by Lozado. Shortly thereafter, Lozado would add back-to-back service aces, followed by a kill by Artero and a block by Jones and first year John Centeno Pagan (Manatí, P.R.). As the set would move forward, Centeno Pagan would add a kill and a service ace, back-to-back service aces from Culhane, a block from Dzhenzherukha and Jones, and two kills by Lozado. Fisher would continue to try to create a late rally, but the Blazers defence would hold off their intrastate foes, with Dzhenzherukha and Artero each recording a block, Tompkins adding a service ace, and Lozado making a kill to win the second set 25-7.

The third and final set would start with Centeno Pagan recording back-to-back service aces, followed by three kills from Culhane and Lozado and a Dzhenzherukha service ace. As the set would continue, Elms would see back-to-back blocks by Artero, a service ace from Lozado, and kills by graduate student Taahir Busaidy (Houston, Texas) and Centeno Pagan. The Falcons would then rally to bring the score to within two points, but the Blazers would regain momentum of the match, seeing four kills from Centeno Pagan, Culhane, and Jones, two service aces by Culhane, a Jones-Dzhenzherukha block, and a final service ace by first year Daviel Roman (Springfield, Mass.) that would win the third set 25-15, and would secure the 3-0 sweep victory at home.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Dzhenzherukha - 22 assists, three service aces, three blocks, and three digs.

• Lozado - six kills, four service aces, and three digs.

• Jones - six kills and three block assists.

• Culhane - five service aces, four kills, and a dig.

• Tompkins - five service aces and a dig.

• Artero - four kills, three blocks, and a service ace.

• Sañchez - four digs and an assist.

• Centeno Pagan - three kills, three service aces, a block assist, and a dig.

• Bellafronte - two kills and a service ace.

• Busaidy - two digs and a kill.

• Roman - a service ace.

• Bousquet - a dig.

• Uschmann - a dig.

UP NEXT: The Elms Men's Volleyball team will travel to Albany, N.Y. for a non-conference match at Russell Sage College on Wednesday, February 11th at 6 pm.

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