Men’s Volleyball Falls in Five Sets at Nichols in NECC Tournament Semifinals

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.