BOSTON, Mass. – Freshman Alex Frapech (Woodland Hills, Calif.) recorded 28 kills as the sixth-seeded Emerson College men's volleyball team rallied from a 2-0 deficit and staved off match point in the fifth and deciding game in a 3-2 win over third-seeded Wentworth in an opening round game of the 2013 Great Northeast Athletic Conference Men's Volleyball Tournament.
Game one saw the Leopards rally from a 14-10 deficit to take a 17-16 lead on a junior Brian Mann (East Freetown, Mass.) kill. Wentworth would outscore Emerson 8-4 late and would prevail, 25-20.
The Leopards were nearly flawless in game two, making just one error on 28 swings for a .536 hitting percentage. Wentworth opened up a 21-16 lead and would score four straight points, including two aces from junior Mike Buonincontra (Shelton, Conn.), to take the 25-16 victory.
Emerson jumped out to an 8-4 lead to start the third game before the Leopards came back and held a 12-8 lead. With the hosts trailing, 14-13, sophomore Rami Akouri (Fall River, Mass.) served an ace to tie the game at 14-all. Akouri and sophomore Sean Donahue (Lincoln, R.I.) combined for a block to put Wentworth ahead, 23-21, however Emerson scored four straight points to take a 25-23 win.
Emerson was in command in game four, hitting .424 as a team and holding Wentworth to a match-low .104. The Lions took a 19-12 lead before the Leopards would pull within three on three occasions, most recently at 24-21. However, Emerson tied the match at two games apiece with a 25-21 win.
The fifth and deciding game featured 15 ties and saw the Leopards break an 11-11 tie by scoring three straight points, with two coming by way of junior Ross Burdett kills and one by a Mann kill. Serving for the match, Wentworth allowed the Lions to score four consecutive points and take a 15-14 lead. The game would be tied five more times and Wentworth would have three chances to serve for the match, however, Emerson came back from 19-18 to win, 21-19.
Frapech added nine digs and three blocks while sophomore Connor Burton (Valencia, Calif.) added 12 kills and eight blocks. Senor Nadav Swartt (Newton, Mass.) had eight kills and two blocks and freshman Brendan McGonigle (Los Angeles, Calif.) had seven kills and 42 assists.
Burdett had 16 kills and 10 digs to pace the Leopards. Akouri and Donahue had 13 kills apiece, with Akouri recording six blocks and 10 digs and Donahue adding four blocks. Mann had 16 kills, and four blocks, while Buonincontra had eight kills, three aces, and 118 digs. Freshman Zach Newhouse (Lancaster, Calif.) had 13 digs and senior Tyler Moriarty (Wilbraham, Mass.) had four kills, 46 assists, and nine digs.
With the win Emerson improves to 12-16 overall and advances to Thursday's semifinals where the Lions will travel to second-seeded Emmanuel. Wentworth falls to 19-10 and awaits a possible ECAC Tournament berth for the second time in the last three seasons.
