Top-Seeds Emmanuel, Regis Advance to GNAC Semifinals

WINTHROP, Mass. - No. 3 seed Emmanuel and No. 4 seed Regis will head to the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Semi-Finals on Thursday, April 10th as they will join top-seeded Wentworth and No. 2 seed Lasell in a battle for a spot in the GNAC Championship match, which will be held on Saturday, April 12th with a time to be determined. The third-seeded Saints advance after defeating six seed Emerson at the Jean Yawkey Center, sweeping the Lions and finishing their season. Meanwhile, the four-seeded Pride halted a near 2-0 comeback from five-seed Rivier in what was an intense battle between the two teams. Emmanuel is set to face the No. 20 nationally-ranked Lasers in the Lasell Athletic Center Thursday evening at 6pm as both teams split the regular-season series (1-1) while Regis will head to Tansey Gymnasium at Wentworth in a 7pm serve as the No. 12 nationally ranked Leopards won both conference matches during the regular season.

Recap Courtesy of Emmanuel College Athletic Communications

BOSTON – Hosting the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Quarterfinals on Tuesday night, Emmanuel men's volleyball eliminated the Emerson Lions from postseason play, following a straight sets sweep (25-18, 25-21, 33-31) on Yosinoff Court

With the win, the Saints improve to 19-11 and have won eight of their last nine matches. The Lions fall out of postseason play, finishing the year at 9-17.

In the opening set, the Saints pushed out to an early lead, using a four-point cushion through much of the set to hold off the Lions. With a 17-15 advantage, the Saints closed the frame with eight of the final 11 points on the way to the 25-18 set win. Emmanuel combined for 15 team kills, hitting .379 from the floor as juniors Trey Guest and Michael Shelley finished with six kills and four kills, respectively, in the frame.

In the second, the Lions came out strong, claiming the first five points of the set. Emmanuel responded with four in a row and later erased the deficit, tying the set at 8-8. The sides continued to jockey for position, but Emmanuel used a scoring surge in the middle of the set to take a 23-17 lead. The Lions closed to within three, but Shelley capped the second set with a kill for a 25-21 set win.

The final set required extra points for the Saints to finish off the straight sets sweep as the visiting Lions fought to keep their season alive. Emerson had a chance to force a fourth set with two set points at the end of the frame, but Emmanuel battled back to a 24-24 tie. The Lions would have three more set points to force a fourth set but were unable to convert, while the Saints needed five attempts at match point before clinching a 33-31 win on a block by Guest and senior Jyles Amirault.

Guest finished with a match-high 17 kills to go along with five service aces and a night of hitting .519 from the floor. Shelley added 15 kills, eight digs, and six assisted blocks in the win. Sophomore Quincy Moore had a team-high 25 assists.

Lions junior Theo Hackett finished with a team-best 14 kills to go with four digs. Junior Chase Fagen and first-year Cash Muse both added six kills while senior Bryson Beck had a match-high 29 assists.

The Saints head into the GNAC Semifinals for a second straight year as they make the trip to the No. 20 Lasell Lasers on Thursday, April 10, for a 6:00 p.m. match. The Saints and Lasers split the regular season series with Emmanuel winning the most recent meeting on March 29 in five sets.

Recap Courtesy of Regis College Athletic Communications

WESTON, Mass. – Regis College Men's Volleyball came out on top, in a five-set thriller over the Raiders from Rivier University, to advance to the Semifinals of the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) postseason tournament.

Brandon Valdes (Miami, Florida) led the charge for the Pride with a dominant 20 kills, while Adam Bonica (Quincy, Mass.) and Eddie Djatcha(Lowell, Mass.) contributed 12 and 11, respectively. Djatcha also made his presence felt at the net with four blocks. Tyrell Bucasas (Waialua, Hawaii) orchestrated the offense with an impressive 53 assists, while Jay Bodhidatta (Bangkok, Thailand) anchored the defense with 21 digs.

Racine Camara powered the Raiders' attack with 13 kills, while Cody Fitzpatrick added eight, with both players also contributing 10 digs. The duo of Cade Barron and Nilson Perez facilitated the offense, each recording 21 assists, while Bassam Awde made his presence known at the net with a game-high six blocks.

How it Happened:

• A Jalen Watt (South Hadley, Mass.) kill would double-up the score at 6-3 before a kill from Valdes, put the Pride up 12-5, forcing the Raiders to call a timeout. Later in the set big block by Bonica and Djatcha extended the lead to 16-8, bringing the crowd to its feet and fueling the momentum as the Pride closed out the first set, 25-15.
• Set two was a tightly contested battle, with neither team gaining more than a three-point edge. In the end, a clutch kill from Bonica secured the 25-23 victory for the Pride.
• The Raiders came out strong in the third set, using four early kills to jump out to a 7-2 lead. After falling behind by as many as nine a Djatcha kill trimmed the deficit to seven (18-11), but the Raiders maintained control, leading by as many as 10 on three separate occasions before closing out the set with a 25-15 win.
• A pair of attack errors gave Regis a five-point cushion at 14-9, but Riv responded with a four-point run to cut the deficit to one. A clutch kill from John Nangle (Lowell, Mass.) halted their momentum, making it 15-13. The set saw ties at 17, 18, 19, and 20 before the Raiders surged with four unanswered points to secure a 25-22 victory, forcing a decisive fifth set.
• The fifth set featured five ties and three lead changes before the Pride surged ahead with four unanswered points, capped by a Valdes kill for a 9-6 lead. Valdes later delivered a crucial block to keep his squad in control at 12-9. Rivier stayed within striking distance, cutting the deficit to 13-12, but back-to-back kills from Bonica and Djatcha sealed the set and secured the 3-2 match victory for the Pride, securing their spot in the GNAC Semifinals.

Inside the Numbers:

• With their win tonight, the Pride secured their first-ever postseason victory in the GNAC and reached their first 20-win season in program history.
• Valdes set a career high with 20 kills as a sophomore.
• Senior setter Tyrell Bucasas recorded a career-best 54 assists in the victory.

Up Next:

The Pride will travel to Wentworth to face the top-seeded Leopards in the Semifinals of the GNAC Postseason Tournament on Thursday, April 10th, at 7 p.m.

ABOUT THE GREAT NORTHEAST ATHLETIC CONFERENCE

The Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is an NCAA Division III association made up of 16 member institutions and over 4000 student-athletes across the New England region. Founded in 1995, the GNAC annually sponsors and administers 20 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunity and community involvement in an effort to enhance the student-athlete experience.

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