Men’s Volleyball Falls in Five Sets to Elms, Blanks John Jay Saturday

NEW YORK, N.Y.- The Eastern Nazarene College men's volleyball team dropped a five-set battle to Elms before topping John Jay 3-0 Saturday afternoon in a non-conference tri-match at John Jay.

The Lions progress to 1-3 on the year with the results while the Blazers improve to 2-0 overall and the Bloodhounds dip to 0-2.

Alejandro Garcia Fernandez (San Juan, Puerto Rico) chalked up 46 kills on the day to go with 12 digs, five blocks, and four aces. Delfy Soler (Lawrence, Mass.) posted 25 kills and 19 digs. Nick Thibeau (Spencerport, N.Y.) contributed with 13 kills and 11 digs on the day. Aaron Huang (Quincy, Mass.) collected 59 assists and 13 digs while Christopher Gil (Lawrence, Mass.) registered 22 assists and six service aces.. Fernando Paredes (Passaic, N.J.) picked up 21 digs while Brandon Brown (Oxford, Pa.) added 18 digs.

In its first match of the day, Eastern Nazarene narrowly fell to Elms in a hard-fought clash, 3-2.

Alejandro Garcia Fernandez (San Juan, Puerto Rico) racked up a program-record 32 kills in the thriller while Delfy Soler (Lawrence, Mass.) notched a career-best 23 kills and Aaron Huang (Quincy, Mass.) dished out 59 assists. Garcia Fernandez's 32 kills and Huang's 59 assists are both NCAA single five-set match highs.

The Lions edged the Blazers 26-24 in the opening set to snag a 1-0 lead.

Elms bounced back with a 25-23 victory in the second frame to level the match at 1-1.

Eastern Nazarene reclaimed a one-set advantage, 2-1, after prevailing 26-24 in the third.

The Blazers knotted the match at 2-2 with a 25-19 decision in the fourth set.

Elms eked out a 16-14 win in the fifth frame after closing out the set with a 7-1 run to lock up its first victory of the year.

In the final tilt of the afternoon, head coach Derek Schmitt picked up his 100th career men's volleyball victory as the Lions defeated the John Jay 3-0.

Alejandro Garcia Fernandez (San Juan, Puerto Rico) tallied 14 kills while dealing four service aces. Christopher Gil (Lawrence, Mass.) recorded 22 assists and six service aces.

The visitors started the match with a 25-15 decision in the opening set to construct a 1-0 lead.

The Lions doubled their advantage to 2-0 with a 25-13 win in the second frame.

Eastern Nazarene triumphed 25-18 in the third to secure its first victory of the 2022 campaign.

Up next, Eastern Nazarene returns home to host No. 13 MIT January 26.