Blazers hand Gulls first conference loss
March 12, 2009
BEVERLY, Mass. - Elms College sophomore outside hitter Alberto Bravo (Toa Baja, Puerto Rico) had a match-high 23 kills as the Blazers handed Endicott its first conference loss of the season with a 3-1 win over the Gulls on Thursday night in Beverly, Mass. Elms posted game scores of 30-25, 20-30, 30-26 and 30-26 in the winning effort. The win improves Elms to 13-11 overall and 8-3 in NECVA New England play. Endicott drops to 19-9 and 12-1 against conference competition.
Sequiel Sanchez Velez (San Sebastian, Puerto Rico) got the visitors started off in the first game as the freshman outside had six kills on nine attempts in the opening frame. Elms used a 9-4 run late in the opener, extending a slight 19-18 lead to a commanding 28-22 advantage, before closing out the game, 30-25.
The Gulls responded by rallying to a 30-20 victory in the second set, paced by a seven kill effort from A.J. Witkofsky (Scotia, N.Y.). Elms didn't help its own cause as the Blazers committed nine attack errors in the frame, allowing the Gulls to even the score at 1-1.
Sequiel Sanchez Velez was once again impressive in the third, pounding home nine kills and contributing six digs in a 30-26 win. The two sides hit an identical .196 in the third, however Elms had six total blocks compared to Endicott's three. Vincent Cruz (Harwington, Conn.) had a big game at the visitors net, notching five assisted blocks in the third set alone.
It was much of the same for the Blazers in the fourth game, as Alberto Bravo finally put the Gulls away with a monster 11 kills on 15 attempts with just one error in the set. Elms swung at .463 in the fourth, which also included five kills from Harry Sebastian (San Juan, Puerto Rico) in the 30-26 triumph.
Alberto Bravo finished with 23 kills while Velez had 20 in the win. Both Vincent Cruz and Harry Sebastian had 12 kills apiece for the Blazers. Ivan Andujar (Carolina, Puerto Rico) surpassed the 3,000 assist plateau, the first player in Elms' program-history to do so, as he had 44 assists in the win on Thursday. The junior now has a career total of 3,012 assists. Marc Carrasco (Tucson, Ariz.) also chipped in 20 digs for the guests.
Endicott got 16 kills and five blocks from A.J. Witkofsky and 13 kills from both John Emery (Westford, Mass.) and Zeke Kubisch (Bethlehem, N.Y.). Ben Foster (Penfield, N.Y.) had 53 assists and Dan Coleman (Millis, Mass.) notched nine digs in the setback.
Elms, winners of four-straight and five of its last six, returns to action on March 18th when the Blazers travel to Southern Vermont for a 7:00 p.m. match with the Mountaineers. Endicott, who has already clinched the NECVA New England Division title, looks to end its two-game skid on March 24th with a conference showdown against Newbury.