Tuesday, February 26, 2013 (Newton, Massachusetts) - Mount Ida College men's volleyball freshman setter Brady Rodriguez (Longwood, FL/Bishop Moore) led the Mustangs with 28 assists in a 3-0 (21-25, 17-25, and 23-25) Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) loss to visiting Emerson College Tuesday evening in Newton, Massachusetts downed for the fourth time in league action for 2013. Although play was tight for all three sets, the visitors managed to keep distance and close out their first conference victory of the year.
The hosts drop their fifth straight match surrendering to an overall record of 4-10 still searching for their first league win (0-4). The Lions snap a five game losing streak capturing their first GNAC victory (1-3) of the season improving to 6-9 for the year.
Senior captain and outside hitter Spencer Hastings (Orlando, FL/Timber Creak) added a team-high 11 kills on 27 attempts for the Mustangs notching eight digs respectively. Junior outside hitter Nick Schibi (Torrington, CT/O. Wolcott Regional) enjoyed a strong offensive individual performance with seven kills on 19 chances with a solo block. Freshman middle blocker Justin Rhoden (Corona, CA/Corona Centennial) would contribute six kills with eight digs.
For the visitors, freshman outside hitter Alex Frapech (Woodland Hills, CA/Palisades Charter) led the Lions with a game-high 14 kills on 29 attempts with only two errors for an impressive .414 hitting percentage for the contest. Freshman setter Brendan McGonigle (Los Angeles, CA/Loyola) distributed 28 assists while senior Nadav Swarttz (Newton, MA/Newton South) hammered seven kills on 13 attempts with a game-high four solo blocks. Freshman defensive specialist Jared Gross (Wexford, PA/North Allegheny) notched 10 digs for Emerson as well.
Games one and three were very close throughout both frames with the visitors ultimately proving victorious in both sets (25-21 and 25-23) slightly egding the Mustangs. Mount Ida had multiple runs with consecutive errors that gave the Lions an arms-length advantage holding off any chance for the hosts to mount a comeback. Stanza two was owned by Emerson never trailing to finish off a commanding 25-17 win eventually en route to the 3-0 match sweep.
The Mustangs will travel to GNAC powerhouse Rivier College Thursday evening in Nashua, New Hampshire with opening serve slated for 7:00 p.m. That same night, the Lions will host non-conference Daniel Webster College starting at the same time slot.