Final Score (Game 1): Emerson 3, Dean 0 (25-12, 25-13, 25-11)
Final Score (Game 2): Emerson 3, Elms 1 (26-24, 25-23, 20-25, 25-23)
Team Records: Emerson (6-16, 4-10 GNAC) | Dean (4-18, 0-14 GNAC) | Elms (8-21, 3-11 GNAC)
Venue & Location: Picknelly Arena | Chicopee, Mass.
Date & Times: April 6, 2024 | 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m.

CHICOPEE, Mass. - Emerson College men's volleyball traveled to Chicopee for a Saturday afternoon tri-match with Dean College and host Elms College. It was the last day of the regular season for all three teams, and the ways the day could played out would impact the bottom three seeds of the GNAC men's volleyball tournament. Emerson had the most success on the day, winning both games to claim sole possession of the #6 seed in the upcoming tournament; Elms split and earned the #7 seed; and Dean lost both games, leaving them as the #8 seed. Emerson improves to 6-16 (4-10 GNAC) on the season, Elms improves to 8-21 (3-11 GNAC), and Dean moves to 4-18 (0-14 GNAC).

Emerson's first game of the afternoon was against Dean. The Lions already swept their opponents in a head-to-head matchup earlier in the season and would proceed to do the same in this match. The Bulldogs kept pace at the start of the first set, tying their opponents 4-4 after going down 4-1 to start. Emerson would then pull away, getting out to a 17-9 lead before eventually putting the set away at 25-12. The second set saw Dean stay close at first, being down as little as 9-6 at one point. Emerson then went on a run to pull away 17-7 and won the second set 25-13. Dean stayed close for much longer in the third set, going down 13-9 before Emerson scored eight unanswered points to get out to a 21-9 lead. The Lions sealed their first match by winning the set 25-11.

Bryson Beck was on point for Emerson in the match, tallying a match-high eight kills along with three aces and a team-high 12 digs. Chase Fagen was right behind Beck with seven kills to go with four digs and two block assists while Bayden Slavik racked up 26 assists and two aces of his own. Dean was led by Aaron Fonseca, who had five kills and seven digs. Hunter Armitage has a team-high five assists and Luis Castillo led the Bulldogs in digs with 14. As a team, Emerson had an efficient 42 kills and 11 errors on 92 total attempts (.333%) while Dean had 10 kills and 17 errors on 86 total attempts (-.081%).

Emerson faced Elms in the second game of the afternoon. Elms won their match against Dean earlier in the day, which meant both teams were 3-10 in GNAC action entering the match. The winner would gain sole possession of the #6 seed in the GNAC men's volleyball tournament. Emerson was down 19-12 during the first set but fought back to force a 24-24 tie before scoring two straight to claim the set by a score of 26-24. Elms had a lead again in the second set, being up 12-6 at one point before the Lions once again rallied to tie the game at 17. Elms would regain the lead later and go up 23-21 off of four straight kills after being down 20-19. A kill by Slavik and an attack error by Elms' Pedro De Jesus seemed to turn the tide for the Lions, as they took the set 25-23.

Set three saw Emerson down late 21-15 before fighting back again, as a pair of kills and an attack error by Nicholas Uschmann made the score 21-18 and forced a timeout by Elms. A service error by Beck seemed to kill the Lions' momentum, allowing Elms to hang on for a 25-20 set win. The fourth set was a back-and-forth battle in which neither team was able to extend their lead past three points. Tied 23-23, a service error by Elms' Santino Giordano put Emerson in match point, and the Lions would seal the win on the very next play, winning the set 25-23.

Emerson was led on offense by Theo Hackett who posted two season-highs with 19 kills and 13 digs. Hackett also had an ace and was credited with two solo blocks and two block assists. Slavik also posted his own season-high 40 assists to go with four kills and nine digs. Bryson Beck was another key player in the victory with his 10 kills and 13 digs. Pedro De Jesus led the Elms' attack with 19 kills, and Nick Uschmann wasn't far behind with 15 kills of his own. Collin Liedke was great on both sides of the ball for the Blazers, racking up 39 assists and 30 digs.

NEXT UP: Men's volleyball begins postseason play on Tuesday, April 9th, at 7:00 p.m. as they travel to Nashua, N.H. to face Rivier in the quarterfinals of the GNAC men's volleyball tournament. Emerson lost both matchups against Rivier this season, who rode an impressive 10-4 conference record to the #3 seed. The winner of the game will move on to the semifinals to face #2 seed Lasell.