Box Score THE BASICS
Score: Emerson 3, Newbury 1
Records: Emerson Lions (2-0, 0-0 GNAC); Newbury Nighthawks (0-2, 0-0 NECC)
Location: Boston, Mass. (Brown & Plofker Gym)
Date: January 31, 2017
The Lead: Behind sophomore Win Kittivatcharapong's (Bangkok, Thailand) match-high 17 swings and seven aces, the Emerson men's volleyball team notched its second straight victory in a 3-1 win over the visiting Newbury College Nighthawks in a non-conference matchup on Tuesday night. Emerson took the first set (25-10) before Newbury evened the match (25-20), but the Lions went on the take the final two sets (26-5, 25-15).
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
- Along with his 17 kills and and seven aces, Kittivatcharapong co-led the defense with three blocks.
- Freshman Diego Garcia (Honolulu, Hi.) led the Lions with nine digs, while junior Nick Rusk (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) powered out a match-high 38 helpers.
- Joshua Throne paced the visitors with seven kills, while Elliot Pollard registered 12 assists and Oscar Chavez recorded six digs.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Emerson recorded a .533 hit percentage through the opening frame to take the 25-10 set win.
- Newbury and Emerson remained within one of each other to begin the set before the Lions strung together a 10-0 push to up their lead to 15-4 after seven aces from Kittivatcharapong.
- The Lions kept the Nighthawks at bay and never let them come within less than 10 as the Lions tallied the final three points of the set to go up 1-0.
- After Emerson squared the second set at 4-all, Newbury embarked on a 9-4 run to gain the 12-7 lead over the Lions and never looked back as they took the second set, 25-20.
- The Nighthawks held a four-point lead over the Lions at 17-13, but the Lions put up three straight points and came within one on an ace by Garcia.
- Emerson was able to bring themselves within on at 21-20 on a kill by sophomore Mark Piorkowski (Montclair, N.J.), yet it was Newbury who put up the set's final five points.
- With a match-high hitting percentage of .650, Emerson regrouped and cruised to a 25-6 third set win and went up 2-1.
- The Lions jumped out to a 5-0 lead after a Rusk ace and began to balloon their lead over the Nighthawks.
- Capped off by a kill from Garcia, Emerson embarked on a 9-0 run that pushed their lead to 16-2 and closed out the set on a 7-4 push to cruise to a third set win.
- Emerson closed the book on Newbury in the fourth stanza with 25-15 set win and took the match 3-1.
- The score was squared twice within the fourth before Emerson broke the 7-all tie on kill by freshman John Bucy (McLean, Va.).
- The Nighthawks remained a mere two points of the Lions in the midst of the frame at 14-12 before the Lions pulled ahead 20-13 on a 6-1 streak.
- After two straight Lions attack errors allowed the Nighthawks within five (20-15), an ace by Garcia closed out the 25-15 win over Newbury.
UP NEXT
- Emerson hosts a tri-match against Lesley and MIT on Saturday, February 4 beginning with a 10:00 a.m. match against Lesley and then face MIT at 2:00 p.m.
- Newbury returns to the court on Tuesday, February 7 to host Emerson at 6:00 p.m.
STAY LIVE WITH THE LIONS
