Box Score THE BASICS
Score: Johnson & Wales (R.I.) 3, Emerson 1 (16-25, 20-25, 25-23, 17-25)
Records: Emerson Lions (10-8, 3-6 GNAC) ; Johnson & Wales Wildcats (12-12, 4-3 GNAC)
Location: Providence, R.I. (Wildcat Center)
Date: Tuesday, March 27, 2018
The Lead: Junior Mark Piorkowski (Montclair, N.J.) paced all players on both sides with 16 kills, but it was not enough to push the Emerson men's volleyball team to a win as the Lions were topped by Johnson & Wales (R.I.) in four sets in GNAC action on Tuesday night.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
- Piorkowski topped all attack leaders on both Johnson & Wales and Emerson with 16, junior Win Kittivatcharapong (Bangkok, Thailand) followed with nine swings while senior Nick Rusk (Fort Lauderdale, Fl.) was two kills shy of a double double with eight and 13 digs.
- Sophomore Lucas Raagas (Cambridge, Mass.) tallied 23 assists with freshman Marcus Cepeda (Sacramento, Calif.) racking up 15.
- Five Lions served up one ace as freshman Samuel Willinger (Golden Beach, Fl.) had a pair of blocks and sophomore Carl D'Aguiar (Tujunga, Calif.) notched 14 digs.
- Cameron Ponce led both sides with a triple double of 13 kills, 18 assists and 12 digs while Matt LaVasseur powered out a .643 hit percentage on 10 kills and five blocks.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Johnson & Wales got out to a quick start and locked up wins within the opening two sets by scores of 25-16 and 25-20.
- Within the third frame, the Lions fought off an early advantage held by the Wildcats and forced a fourth set on an ace and kill despite the hosts nearly taking the sweep after getting out of a 23-20 hole.
- The Wildcats secured the 3-1 win and came out of the fourth frame with an 8-3 lead on Nick Bitetto's kill as the hosts were able to hold off the Lions for the 25-17 win.
UP NEXT
- Emerson heads off to Lasell in a 7:00 p.m. GNAC meeting on Thursday, March 29.
- Johnson & Wales is also back in conference action on Thursday night against Emmanuel (Mass.) at 7:00 p.m.
STAY LIVE WITH THE LIONS
