FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

TOURNAMENT CENTRAL

4 EMMANUEL 3, #5 LASELL 2

THE LEAD – Emmanuel College senior outside hitter Erik English (Simi Valley, Calif.) blasted a career-high 26 kills to power #4 Men's Volleyball past visiting #5 Lasell College, 3-2, in come-from-behind fashion in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference Quarterfinals Tuesday evening on the Andy Yosinoff Court.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Set 1:

• The Saints took an early lead, 7-3, with two kills and a service ace from junior Justyn Schueler (Trumbull, Conn).
• The Lasers capitalized on the Saints' errors towards the middle of the set and tied the score, 11-11, before the Saints took the lead with a kill from Schueler, a bad set, and an attack error, 14-11.
• Schueler and junior John Carroll (Massapequa, N.Y.) continued the offensive attack for the Saints to close the set out, 25-22.

Set 2:

• In competitive back and forth action, the two teams were point for point through seven until the Lasers took the lead on an attack error and a service ace by sophomore Dillon Desouza (Enfield, Conn.), 9-7.
• An attack error and a kill from junior Seamus McDonagh (Long Beach, N.Y.) of EC tied the score, 9-9, and the two teams continued the point for point trend continued through 16.
• The Lasers broke away on a kill by sophomore Conor Leary-Watson (Bethany, Conn.), 17-16, and kept the lead for the remainder of the set closing it out, 25-20.

Set 3:

• The point for point trend continued in the beginning of the third set, 8-8, until the Lasers went ahead on kills from junior Scott Sterenberg (Oceanside, N.Y.) and senior Andy Henriquez (Lawrence, Mass.), 10-8.
• The Lasers extended their lead by one, 11-8, before the Saints went on a go-ahead run with back to back kills from Schueler, a kill from English, a service ace, and an attack error, 13-11.
• The Lasers tied it up with a kill from Sterenberg and two attack errors, 13-13.
• Lasell took the lead with offensive attack powered by Leary-Watson and senior David Anthony (Cranston, R.I.) to close the set out 25-21.

Set 4:

• Despite the Saints' early lead, 4-1, the Lasers were able to regain the advantage after tying the game at seven with a kill from Sterenberg, a kill from Henriquez, and an attack error, 10-7.
• A four-point run led by Carroll and English of EC tied the game, 18-18.
• The two teams went point for point through 20, until the Saints went ahead on attack errors and kills from English and Schueler to come from behind to close the set out, 25-22.

Set 5:

• The two teams were evenly matched through eight, before the Saints took the lead on a kill from McDonagh and a kill from English, 10-8 and never looked back.
• A Lasell kill by Henriquez pulled the visitors to within one at 11-10 but the host squad answered with four straight points to close out the night with a 15-10 fifth set win to take the match, 3-2.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• English added 15 digs along with his match/career-high 26 kills for the senior's ninth double-double of the year. He also added three aces and now has 85 on the year to lead the nation among NCAA Division III Men's Volleyball players.
• McDonagh finished the night with 54 assists, marking the third time this season he's posted a 50+ assist match.
• Schueler added 15 kills in the win while junior libero Max Gottuso (Long Beach, N.Y.) was stellar defensively with a season-high 18 digs in the victory.
• Sterenberg and Anthony paced the Lasers with a team-high 13 kills each while Henriquez and Leary-Watson added 11 kills each. Henriquez also dished out 42 assists while collecting 15 digs for a strong all-around performance in the final match of his career for Lasell.
• Senior Jordan Aprea (Newington, Conn.) also went out with his head high, posting a match-high 20 digs while adding eight assists for the Lasers.

UP NEXT:

• The Saints return to action on Thursday, April 11 when they hit the road to face #1 Rivier University in the GNAC Semifinals. The top-seeded Raiders are currently ranked 13^thin the nation and did not lose a match in conference play all year.

#3 JWU 3, #6 EMERSON 0

PROVIDENCE, RI –  The Johnson & Wales University men's volleyball team convincingly moved in the opening round of the GNAC Tournament. The Wildcats topped Emmerson College, 3-0 (25-16, 25-20, 25-19) on Tuesday.

Record:
Emerson: 11-14
Johnson & Wales: 21-10

Statistical Leaders:
Sanjae Holloway (JWU): 11 kills vs. 7 digs
Cameron Ponce (JWU): 37 assists, 8 digs
Mark Piorkowsk (EC): 11 kills, 11 digs

Of Note:
Johnson & Wales moves on to the semifinals where it will face Wentworth at 7 p.m. on Thursday. The Wildcats and Leopards split this year.

With the victory, the Wildcats set the program's single-season win mark. Three previous JWU squads had reached the 20-win mark.

A Mark Piorkowski kill got the Lions within 10-9 in the first set, but the Wildcats used an 8-2 run to pull away. JWU would find itself down, 10-4, but rallied to take an 18-17 lead on a Ben Sandt kill. JWU finished the set on a 21-10 run.

Emerson could not keep up with the Wildcats' offense. Johnson & Wales hit .337 while the visitors were held to a .067 rate.

Setter Cameron Ponce ran a diverse offense with four players recording six or more kills. Jack Pincince and Sanjae Holloway had 11 kills each.