Men’s Volleyball won their home opener beating Pine Manor on January 31.

The last quarter of the game was close with the Lions pulling out of the last set with a score of 25-23, but the final score showed a sweep of 3-0.

It has been a full year since the ENC Men’s Volleyball team was formed, but they have had their fair share of success after going all the way to the quarter finals in the New England Collegiate Conference, losing 3-0 to Newbury College.

Senior Andrew Shaw has high hopes for this season. “I’d like to see this team continue to grow,” says Shaw, who is one of the founders of the ENC Men’s Volleyball team. “Already our team has been projected to come in at least 3rd place in the conference, but I think we can do a lot better.”

Andrew also has high hopes for himself. He states, “I was disappointingly average last year. I just want to stand out this year.” Shaw is the team’s “Libero,” meaning that he can play all of the other roles. His skills were evident in the home opener, leading the box scores with 8 digs, points that could have easily cost the team one of their quarters.

Shaw started forming the team his freshmen year with Matt Tyree, the team’s Setter. The two were helping out with the Women’s Volleyball team when they decided they wanted to start playing in a league of their own. “I knew of a lot of guys that were interested in playing,” says Shaw. “Eventually we got up to 15 guys playing at one time.”

This year is also Coach Derek Schmitt’s first year coaching the Men’s Volleyball team, coming back to the school that is his alma mater. Schmitt says that while the men did well this game, they have a long road ahead of them. “We have a couple of games coming up this Friday and Saturday, against some tougher schools,” Schmitt explains. “We’re going to have to train hard in these upcoming practices if we expect to play with them.”

Outside hitter Kenney Sorensen was a prime component to the team’s victory scoring 13 kills, and even his missed attempts would leave the opponents reeling. Sorensen loves volleyball mostly because of its team aspect. “It’s not about one player. Every play needs at least two people.”

The game was originally to take place on Jan. 25 but was rescheduled because Pine Manor had not recruited enough players.