Men’s Volleyball Falls in Five Sets at Nichols in NECC Tournament Semifinals
April 13, 2023
DUDLEY, Mass.- The No. 3 seed Eastern Nazarene College men's volleyball team endured a 3-2 loss at second-seeded Nichols in the New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) Tournament semifinals Thursday evening.
THE BASICS:
Score: Eastern Nazarene 2, Nichols 3
Records: Lions (18-13]) | Bison (21-8)
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Nichols captured the first set 25-20 to build a 1-0 lead.
- Eastern Nazarene responded with a 25-22 win in the second frame to level the match at 1-1.
- The Lions eked out a 27-25 victory in the third to seize a 2-1 edge.
- The Bison cruised to a 25-16 decision in the fourth set to force a winner-take-all fifth frame.
- Nichols prevailed 15-11 in the fifth to advance to its second consecutive NECC championship match
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:
- Alejandro Garcia Fernandez (San Juan, P.R.) racked up a match-best 22 kills to go with six digs and three aces.
- Jacob Zarges (Quincy, Mass.) finished with seven kills while Delfy Soler (Lawrence, Mass.) tallied five kills.
- Nathan Jacques (Casselberry, Fla.) posted 22 assists, 12 digs, and five kills.
- Aaron Huang (Quincy, Mass.) chipped in with 12 assists and Fernando Paredes (Passaic, N.J.) added 11 digs.
- Carlos Mercado paced Nichols with 22 kills while Tanner Soracco notched 16 kills.