CHICOPEE, MASS. – The Colby-Sawyer men's volleyball team travelled to Chicopee, Massachusetts for a tri-match hosted by Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) member, Elms College and included Nichols College.
Game 1 (Elms):
- The greatest number of kills against the blazers of Elms College came in the first set, with the Chargers putting up nine to the opposing Blazers 10. Trailing by 11, three Blazer attacking errors and a kill by senior Orlando Plagata (Los Angeles, Calif.) cut the Elms lead to seven. A kill by first-years Andreas Bump (St. Thomas, Virgin Islands) and Christopher Huynh (Methuen, Mass.) set the Chargers at 16. However, the Elms advantage was too great for the Chargers to make a comeback as they dropped set one, 25-16.
- The second set consisted of the Blazers maintaining a hefty lead over the Chargers reaching 25 before Colby-Sawyer could leave 13. Senior Eric Miller (La Grange, ILL.) and Plagata collected the only three kills of the set with two accredited to the California native.
- The Chargers responded in the third set of the match with a couple opposing errors, a service ace from first year Issac Davies (Hinesburg, VT.) and two impactful kills by Miller to gain a 5-2 lead over the Blazers. Elms quickly reacted as they went on a six-point run to take back the lead in which they held for the remainder of the match to set game one 3-0.
Game 2 (Nichols):
- In terms of kills, the Chargers had a much more successful match when playing Nichols College. In total, the men collected 27 kills throughout the four sets played, with nine coming from set one. Trailing by four with the score at 16-12, the Chargers took a four-point run to tie the set, sparked by an opposing attacking error. Then, behind by two, Colby-Sawyer took back the momentum to have a three-point advantage going into the 20's. Both teams battled head-to-head with the Chargers coming out on top, taking set one 26-24.
- Coming off a set loss, Nichols College reacted with their own five-point run to start the second set, 5-0. The Chargers made every attempt to climb up the ladder, but despite their great efforts, the men fell short losing set two, 25-16. Five of the five total kills from set two were accredited to Plagata.
- The beginning of set three could've gone either way until the Chargers opponents took a seven-point advantage and rode it till the end, taking the third set 25-12. Plagata and Miller, along with Davies took turns earning kills.
- Needing to win set four to tie the match, the Chargers failed to do so losing 25-16 in the fourth. The Bison of Nichols College had a quick jump as they took an endearing lead right out of the gates. Struggling to catch up, the Chargers trailed by eight before a kill from first-year Lucas Lizotte (Hampstead, N.H.) cut the lead to seven. Plagata and Lizotte shared kills and assists, however their efforts were just not enough to stop the Nichols powerful offense.
Up next:
The Colby-Sawyer Chargers are back in action on Friday, February 4
th in their home court as they get a second chance with the blazers of Elms College.
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