Elms College Blazers Win Inaugural 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.

Newbury brought it to a tied score 27-27 after a yellow card was handed out the Blazers. Unfortunately for the home Nighthawks, the Blazers scored the last three consecutive points of the game including a tough blocking error called in the final point on Newbury.

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.