BOSTON, Mass. – For the second time this season, Mount Ida senior James Ames (W. Hartford, Conn.) compiled 20 kills in a match, but it wasn't enough to help Mount Ida overcome Emerson College, who dealt the Mustangs a 3-0 defeat with scores of 25-19, 25-18 and 25-18 in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) men's volleyball on Tuesday evening.
The Mustangs drop to 6-17 overall and 1-8 in conference play, while the Lions rise to 9-11 overall and 5-5 in the GNAC.
Ames, who tallied 25 kills in a February 24th win over Albertus Magnus, hit .324 against the Lions, his fifth best hitting percentage in a match this season.
Mount Ida took the first point of the match with a kill by Ames, but the Lions quickly responded as Jackson Wiley (Los Angeles, Calif.) got a kill to spur Emerson to a 10-4 lead. The Mustangs refused to let up and with the score standing at 23-13, Mount Ida went on an impressive run as Ames tallied 6 unanswered kills (23-19). Ames then made two attack errors in a row which closed the set out for the Lions.
The remaining two sets were similar with the Lions getting out to an early lead, while the Mustangs fought to make up the gap. Stig Regan (Kailua, Hawaii) got the final kill in the second set, and a service error by the Mustangs closed out the final set.
Leading for the Lions was Wiley with 9 kills and a service ace. Mark Piorkowski (Montclair, N.J.) and Win Kittivatcharapong (Bangkok, Thailand) both had 7 kill and a block assist each. Ben Hillman lead in digs with 8, while Nick Rusk (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) led in assists with 25.
Mount Ida looks forward to hosting Lasell for another GNAC matchup on March 24th, opening serve at 6:00pm.
The Lions return to action on March 26th when they travel to Wentworth for a 12:00pm match.