The ENC men’s volleyball team is attempting to maintain momentum after completing a team trip to New York to start the season.
From January 18 to January 21, the team played in New York City against Division III collegiate teams from New York. The Lions claimed two shutout victories over St. Joseph’s College and Mount Saint Vincent College. The team wrapped up the trip with a 0-3 loss to John Jay College of Criminal Justice.
Head coach Derek Schmitt noted that the execution of his players must keep getting better.
“We know we have a lot of room for improvement,” the alumnus said, “especially attacking, passing, and serving.”
Nevertheless, the Lions are replacing key players from last season such as Kenny Sorensen, Andrew Shaw, Matthew Tyree, and Andre Jayne. Last season, Sorensen was ranked first in NCAA Division III with 11.75 attacks per set.
”Kenny [Sorensen] was our leader and a personality,” Senior Danny Blue reveals. “It’s going to be a team effort this year.”
Even though it is going to be hard to replace these players, the Lions gained some new recruits. Sophomores Doug Gaffney and Quinn Smith, as well as freshmen Brock Pease and Arthur Kossoki joined the team. In New York City, Kossoki led the team with 2.78 kills per set and Gaffney claimed four kills and zero errors in seven attacking attempts.
Last season, ENC Lions reached the playoffs semifinals losing to Elms College.
Looking towards the conference season, coach Schmitt clarifies, “it’s a big picture thing. We want to win as many matches this year and at the same time trying to build some of these guys for the next years.”
The men’s volleyball team will be looking to rebound after a disappointing loss to Regis College on January 24, when they play Lasell College at home January 31.