Men's Volleyball Makes Third NECVA Tournament Appearance
April 09, 2010
The Emmanuel men's volleyball team competed in the North East Collegiate Volleyball Association (NECVA) Tournament on April 9th, marking the Saints' third NECVA Tournament appearance in four years. The 12th-seeded Saints took fifth-seeded Endicott College into five sets, before losing in a heartbreaking 3-2 decision in the opening round.
The 16-team tournament, hosted by the Hyannis Youth and Community Center, featured matches played simultaneously on dual courts. Emmanuel and Endicott traded sets, with the Saints taking the opener, 30-25. Endicott bounced back to win the second, 30-23. The Saints won the third, 30-27, and the Gulls matched with a 30-22 win in the fourth. Endicott won the match with a 16-14 decision in the fifth set thriller.
The Saints finished the regular season with a record of 27-11 and collected six selections to the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) All-Conference Teams. In addition, Head Coach Chris Wright was chosen by his peers as the 2010 GNAC Coach of the Year. Wright has been at the helm of the Saints' program for the past five seasons, leading the team to an increased number of wins each season. This year, he has the team at a new program-record for wins in a season with a current mark of 27 victories and just 11 losses. The team went 11-1 in conference play and advanced to the GNAC finals. Emmanuel was also ranked 10th in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) national poll. This is the first time an Emmanuel men's volleyball coach has received Coach of the Year honors.
Outside hitter Curtis Abram '11 received 1st Team All-Conference recognition, after leading the Saints offense all season. Abram is averaging 4.06 kills per set and has been hitting at a clip of .335 this year. He was named AVCA National Player of the Week on March 8th, GNAC Player of the Week twice and was selected to the GNAC Weekly Honor Roll three times this year. Most recently, Abram was named to the GNAC All-Tournament Team.
Three Emmanuel athletes were selected to the 2nd Team All Conference. Among them was outside hitter Michael Townsend '10. Townsend is a two-time team captain and a three-time all-conference selection. He is leading the Saints in both service aces and digs this season. Townsend has averaged 0.58 aces per set, which ranks him 10th nationally in this category.
Also receiving nods to the 2nd Team All Conference were Tyson Rietz '11 and Keoni Rabaino '11. Rietz has been good for 3.15 kills per set, hitting .277 this season. He has also averaged 1.71 digs and 0.63 blocks per set, which gives him an average of 4.05 points per set. Rabaino is second on the Saints in hitting percentage with a .341 average and is good for 2.13 kills and 0.58 blocks per set.
Thomas McCaffrey '11 was selected to the 3rd Team All-Conference. McCaffrey leads the team in blocks with 21 solo and 70 assisted blocks this season. His average of 0.98 blocks per set ranks him 19th nationally in this category. He has also been a huge addition to the Saints' offense, hitting at .342, the top percentage on the squad, and averaging 1.61 kills per set.
Rounding out Emmanuel's honors, setter Taylor Lowe '10 was named to the All-Sportsmanship Team. Lowe has shared time with two other Emmanuel setters this season and has set up the Emmanuel offense to hit .270 as a team. Lowe tallied his 3,000th assist this season and is Emmanuel's all-time leader in career assists.
