Men's Volleyball

SAINTS KNOCK OFF #10 MSOE IN FIVE-SETTER

The Emmanuel Men's Volleyball Team downed its second top-ten team of the week on Thursday night, knocking off Milwaukee School of Engineering, 3-2.

Curtis Abram powered the Saints with 27 kills in the win

Curtis Abram powered the Saints with 27 kills in the win

March 4, 2010

Box Score

BOSTON, Mass. - The Emmanuel Men's Volleyball Team downed its second top-ten team of the week on Thursday night, knocking off Milwaukee School of Engineering, 3-2. The non-conference match was a five-set battle, in which the Saints outlasted the 10th-ranked Engineers in a nail-biting 17-15 fifth set. A 37-35 Raider win in set one, led to back-to-back Emmanuel wins (30-25, 30-27) in the second and third games. The visitors took set four, 30-23, before Emmanuel nipped MSOE in the fifth. With the win, Emmanuel improved to 17-7 overall, while MSOE dropped to 7-10 on the season. Both teams will play this weekend in the MIT Invitational Tournament.

The two teams battled to a 5-5 tie early in the first set after a deep kill by Curtis Abram (San Luis Obispo, Calif.). After consecutive Emmanuel kills from Michael Townsend (Beaverdam, Va.), Glenn Frazee (Kenosha, Wis.) put one down to give MSOE an 11-9 lead. The Raider held a slight advantage until a block by Tyson Rietz (Granite Bay, Calif.) and Thomas McCaffrey (Massapequa, N.Y.) tied things up at 16-all.

A Nick Updike (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) ace gave Emmanuel its first lead since the start. Each team traded points until a kill and an ace by Max Martin (Schaumburg, Ill.) gave MSOE a 23-21 edge. A 25-22 Raider lead forced Emmanuel's second time-out of the set.

Out of the time-out, a kill by Rietz brought the score to 27-24, Raiders. The two teams exchanged service errors to 28-25. A big kill by Martin gave the Raiders their 29th point. Abram then slammed one down and combined for a block with Cam Todd (Los Angeles, Calif.) to bring the Saints back to within striking distance at 28 points. MSOE was called for a lift and knotted the contest at 29-all. Six more ties took place over the next seven points before the Raiders came away with a 37-35 set win.

EC took an 11-6 lead to open the second set after back-to-back aces from Updike and MSOE called for a time-out. A monster block by Townsend brought the sore to 12-7, Saints. The Raiders began to chip away at the Emmanuel lead and Martin put one back on the Saints' side to bring them to within one at 18-17. A cross-court kill from Keoni Rabaino (Tucson, Ariz.) put the Saints up, 23-19. Consecutive put-backs by the Raiders brought the spread to 26-24, Saints. A kill by Abram and a Raider hitting error gave EC a 28-24 lead and forced another MSOE time-out. A serving error by the visitors and a Townsend kill ended set two at 30-25 and tied the match at one set apiece.

Emmanuel stormed out to an 11-7 lead in the third set, backed by kills from McCaffrey and Rabaino. The Saints held a 5-point lead at 15-10 after another Rabaino kill. A kill from Abram brought the score to 22-19, Saints. The Raiders then went on a 4-1 run and managed to tie the set at 23-all on an Emmanuel hitting error. The hosts built a three-point lead at 28-25 and forced an MSOE time-out. A put-back by McCaffrey ended the set at 30-27 and Emmanuel took a 2-1 match lead.

The Raiders were up 11-6 to start the fourth set. The visitors held on to the 5-point lead to 21-16. A kill by Rabaino cut the Saints' deficit 24-19. A kill and an ace from Abram cut it to 26-21. The Raiders held on to their lead throughout and a kill by Chris Reininger (St. Louis, Mo.) gave the visitors set four (30-23) and forced a fifth and deciding game.

Emmanuel surged out to a 4-2 lead in the fifth, powered by kills from Rietz and Abram. Updike delivered, serving off several points and the Saints led 8-4 at the change. A McCaffrey kill doubled up the visitors score at 10-5, Saints. Two kills from Abram put EC up 12-7. A put-back by Todd forced an MSOE time-out and things looked great for the Saints. Out of the timeout, two Emmanuel hitting errors brought the visitors back into it and the Saints led 13-11. A Townsend kill brought the score to 14-11. It took four match points, before Abram put a ball off the MSOE blockers to end the set at 17-15 and Emmanuel survived with a 3-2 win.

Abram led Emmanuel's offense with 27 kills, hitting .422 for the match, to go along with his 13 digs and 2 blocks. Rabaino hit .375 with 13 kills in 24 swings, while Townsend recorded a near double-double with 12 kills and 9 digs. Rietz finished with 10 kills, 6 blocks and 5 digs, while McCaffrey added 8 kills and 6 blocks. Updike and Taylor Lowe (Malibu, Calif.) combined for 62 assists, with the two players dishing out 33 and 29, respectively. Lowe, who is Emmanuel's all-time leader in assists, is now just 12 assists shy of 3,000 for his collegiate career.

Emmanuel will face the University of New Haven in the opening match of the MIT Invitational. The Saints are scheduled to take on the Chargers at 4:30pm on Saturday evening. Emmanuel will play Bard College in the 7pm match.