2009 NECC MEN'S VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE
Semifinals • Saturday, March 28
#4 Lesley (3-18, 2-6) vs. #1 Newbury (22-10, 7-1), NC 3 LU 0 (30-6, 30-7, 30-12)
#3 Daniel Webster (5-12, 4-4) vs. #2 Elms (16-12, 7-1), EC 3 DWC 0 (30-17, 30-20, 30-16)

Championship Match
#2 Elms (17-12) vs. #1 Newbury (23-10),  EC 3 NC 1  (27-30, 30-21, 30-22, 30-27)

Championship Game: Elms 3, Newbury 1 (27-30, 30-21, 30-22, 30-27)

ELMS COLLEGE BLAZERS WIN INAGURAL NECC MEN'S VOLLEYBALL TITLE

BROOKLINE, Mass.-The #2 seeded Blazers of Elms College take home the inaugural New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) Men's Volleyball Championship title after upsetting the #1 seeded Nighthawks of Newbury College in four sets
3-1. After falling 30-27 in the first set, Elms blazed back to win the next three sets 30-21, 30-22 and 30-27 to nab the championship title.

In the first set, the Nighthawks controlled the game hitting a team .467 with 18 kills. The next three sets, the Blazers controlled the momentum of play hitting .455 and match high .556 in the next two sets. The battle was fought in the fourth and final set with the score flip-flopping down to the final stretch.

The 2009 NECC Player of the Year sophomore Alberto Bravo (Toa Baja, Puerto Rico) topped the Blazers with an impressive .487 hitting percentage nailing 25 kills. Bravo along with teammate senior Libero Marc Carrasco (Safford, Ariz.) were chosen to the 2009 NECC All-Tournament team for their efforts. Carrasco finished with five digs and 33 serve receptions.

NECC Rookie of the Year Sequiel Sanchez Velez (San Sebastian, Puerto Rico) was named the tournament MVP for his two match effort. Sanchez Velez hit .407 with 14 kills and ten digs. Teammate and freshman middle hitter Harry Sebastian (San Juan, P.R.) topped all players with a impressive .524 attack percentage. Sebastian was a force at the net tallying a game high 9 blocks.

Three Nighthawks notched double figures as well for the match. Garnering the final two spots on the 2009 NECC All-Tournament Team were junior middle hitter Mark Thomas (Wilbraham, Mass.) and senior outside hitter Bryan McDermand (Palatine, Ill.), who were both also named to the 2009 NECC First team All-Conference.

Thomas led the Nighthawks with 19 kills and a .306 attack percentage. McDermand was not far behind his teammate tallying 18 kills for a .324 attack percentage. Both Thomas and McDermand combined for ten digs. Sophomore outside hitter James Beck (Havre de Grace, Md.) also notched double digits with 12 kills and a .348 attack percentage.

Fellow All-NECC team member sophomore setter Matt Talamantes (Sylmar, Cal.) led his team with an impressive .429 attack percentage, chipping in the match-high 56 assists. Thomas also added four digs and one block solo.

Elms is now 18-12 on the season, while Newbury drops to 23-11. Both teams should continue their season at the 2009 NECVA Championships next weekend.

Box Score 

Semifinal Game One: Newbury 3, Lesley 0 (30-6, 30-7, 30-12)

#1 NEWBURY ADVANCES TO CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH DEFEATING #4 LESLEY 3-0

BROOKLINE, Mass. - The #1 seeded Nighthawks of Newbury College swept the #4 seeded Lynx of Lesley University 3-0 in game one of the 2009 New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) Men's Volleyball Championship. Newbury easily shut-down Lesley in three straight sets 30-6, 30-7 and 30-12 advancing to the championship game.

The Nighthawks' were led by freshman outside hitter James Krizka (Buffalo Grove, Ill.) hitting an impressive .812 attack percentage. Krizka tallied 13 kills, five digs, three service aces, and one block assist for the game high 16.5 points. Sophomore middle hitter Max Daley (Cranston, R.I.) also notched double figures with 10 kills and an a blazing .769 attack percentage for Newbury. At the net, Daley grabbed four blocks including two block assists and two block solos.

Senior setter Matt Sadowski (Feeding Hills, Mass.) led the Nighthawks on the court with 34 assists while adding three service aces to the 14 team total for green and gold.

Lesley's sophomore setter Stephen Siragusa (Valley Stream, N.Y.), all-tournament member, guided his team finishing with nine assists on 60 attempts for the match. Siragusa also had two digs and two block assists.

Newbury came out ready to play stifling Lesley 30-6 in the first set. The repeated their dominating ways taking the second set 30-7. The Nighthawks offensively hit their match high of .682 as a team in the second set. Lesley was able to notch double figures in the third and final set falling 30-12.

Newbury advances to 23-10 on the season, while Lesley finishes their season at 3-19.

Box Score 

Semifinal Game Two: Elms 3, Daniel Webster 0 (30-17, 30-20, 30-16)

#2 ELMS ADVANCES TO CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH DEFEATING #3 DANIEL WEBSTER 3-0

BROOKLINE, Mass.-The #2 seeded Blazers of Elms College eliminated the #3 seeded Eagles of Daniel Webster in three straight sets 30-17, 30-20 and 30-16 in game two of the semifinals of the 2009 New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) Men's Volleyball Championship this afternoon at the Pappas Arena on the campus of Hellenic College.

Elms' was lead by sophomore outside hitter Carlos DeLeon-Gomez (Carolina, Puerto Rico), who seemed to set the pace for the Blazers. DeLeon-Gomez hit .667 for the match with 10 kills also chipping in the match high eight digs, three service aces and two assists.

Offensively, NECC Rookie of the Year Sequiel Sanchez Velez (San Sebastian, Puerto Rico) topped all players with 12 kills garnering a .478 attack percentage. Sanchez Velez had four assists, five digs and one block assist. The 2009 NECC Player of the Year sophomore Alberto Bravo (Toa Baja, Puerto Rico) topped the Blazers with an impressive .600 hitting percentage with eight kills. The Blazers' junior Ivan Andujar (Carolina, Puerto Rico), 2009 All-NECC first team member, split the setting duties with freshman Jesus Echevarria (San Juan, Puerto Rico), 2009 All-NECC honorable mention, each contributing 18 assists.

Daniel Webster freshman outside hitter Ian Catenzaro (Londonderry, N.H.), 2009 All-NECC second team member, led the Eagles with seven kills and three digs. Catenzaro was chosen to the NECC All-Tournament team finishing with a team high .222 attack percentage. Fellow all-conference member junior setter Eric Smith (Clay, N.Y.) chipped in five kills, 13 assists and four digs.

Defensively both teams were evenly matched with Elms grabbing 26 digs to Daniel Webster's 21 team digs.

Elms finished with 46 kills hitting .360 in the first set, .314 in the second set and match high .429 in the third and final set.

Elms advances to 17-12 on the season while Daniel Webster finishes their 2009 campaign with a 5-13 overall record.

 Box Score


2009 NECC MEN'S VOLLEYBALL ALL-TOURNAMENT
Stephen Siragusa, Lesley, Sophomore (Valley Stream, N.Y.)
Ian Catenzaro, Daniel Webster, Freshman (Londonderry, N.H.)
Mark Thomas, Newbury, Junior (Wilbraham, Mass.)
Bryan McDermand, Newbury, Senior (Palatine, Ill.)
Marc Carrasco, Elms, Senior (Safford, Ariz.)
Alberto Bravo, Elms, Sophomore (Toa Baja, P.R.)
MVP Sequiel Sanchez Velez, Elms, Freshman (San Sebastian, P.R.)