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MEN'S VOLLEYBALL SNATCHES 3-2 GNAC WIN OVER WILDCATS
The Mount Ida College men’s volleyball team notched their fourth Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) victory over visiting Johnson & Wales University winning 3-2 by scores of 24-30, 30-26, 24-30, 30-24, 16-14. The Mustangs improve to 9-11, 4-7 in league play while the Wildcats fall to 5-10, 1-5 in the GNAC.
The visitors jumped ahead early in game one leading 7-4 after a Peter Yanakiev (Varna, Bulgaria) kill. Mount Ida had trouble keeping pace with the Wildcats falling behind 13-6 following a junior Eric Minnich (Concord, California) kill. The Mustangs mounted a comeback cutting the visitor advantage 22-20 after a couple of small runs capped on a Thomas Belton (Springfield, MA/Springfield Central) kill. Johnson & Wales powered a small 3-0 run to pull ahead 21-25 on a Mustang error. The Wildcats eventually captured the 30-24 game one win leading 1-0 in the match.
Game two was extremely tight the entire way through with the Mustangs holding a small 7-4 lead after a Belton kill. The visitors caught up regaining the advantage up 9-7 after a solo block by freshman Chandler Crawford (East Greenwich, Rhode Island). The game knotted on four different occasions with multiple lead changes. The Mustangs eventually regained the advantage up 20-17 after a Franklin McCaffrey (East Greenwich, RI/East Greenwich) kill. The visitors pulled within two after two consecutive kills by Minnich making it 23-21. Mount Ida finished off the 30-26 game two victory after a 4-0 run tying the match 1-1.
In another tight match-up, game three started with the Mustangs jumping ahead 10-6 following a Wildcat error and a couple of kills by Belton and freshman Ross Florexil (Lake Worth, FL/Lake Worth). The visitors would regain the advantage up 16-12 after a 10-2 run after a Mount Ida error at the net. Although Mount Ida would ultimately tie the score at 23-23, the Wildcats eventually closed out the 30-24 game three victory taking over the match advantage again up 2-1.
Mount Ida never trailed in game four leading 11-7 after a freshman Spencer Hastings (Orlando, FL/Timber Creak) kill. Although the visitors tied the score at 21-21 after a Minnich kill, Mount Ida powered up after a 3-0 run taking the 25-22 advantage after a Belton kill. The Mustangs would close out the 30-24 game four victory knotting the match 2-2 heading into the deciding set.
In the final bid of the night, the Mustangs jumped ahead by two up 6-4 after a Florexil solo block. The hosts added to their lead on the next couple of points leading 11-7 after a Wildcat error. The visitors came roaring back to tie the score at 12-12 and 14-14 after multiple unforced errors by Mount Ida. A Belton kill and an error by the visitors gave the Mustangs the 16-14 game five victory sealing the 3-2 match win.
Mount Ida was led by Belton with an amazing 28 kills and 16 digs while senior Shane Wilson (Gloucester, MA/Gloucester) added 16 digs of his own. Florexil also enjoyed a solid night with 12 kills, three solo blocks, and two block assists. Freshman setter Eddie Pinero (Inwood, NY/Lawrence) dished out 50 assists adding eight digs.
The Mustangs will travel to Elms College over the weekend for a North East Collegiate Volleyball Association (NECVA) tri-match against Elms and MIT starting at 2:00 p.m. in Chicopee, Massachusetts.
