BENNINGTON, Vt. – In his final home match wearing a Southern Vermont College uniform, senior Anthony Barahona (Eagle Rock, Calif.) recorded his 1,000th career kill Wednesday night, becoming the first SVC men's volleyball player in program history to do so, in a 3-0 win over Elms College in New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) action at the Mountaineer Athletic Center.
The win concludes Southern Vt.'s NECC season as the Mountaineers (12-9, 8-4 NECC) now wait to see how the rest of league action shakes out to determine postseason seeding. The Blazers were eliminated from playoff contention with the loss, falling to 6-16 on the season, 4-7 against the conference.
SVC took the Wednesday sweep of EC with set scores of 25-13, 25-10, and 25-23.
Barahona finished the night with 16 kills to go with six service aces and three digs. Prior to the match, he and fellow senior Anthony Ayala (Pico Rivera, Calif.) were honored by their teammates and coaches for their outstanding careers and hard work during their time at Southern Vt. Ayala went on to facilitate the Mountaineer offense, notching an assist on 33 of the 34 SVC kills; he added a kill of his own, two service aces and two digs in his final home match as a Mountaineer.
SVC juniors Joey Dighton (Riverside, Calif.) and Scott Fitzgerald (Fort Edward, N.Y.) followed Barahona with 11 and 10 kills, respectively, both tabbing only two hitting errors; Fitzgerald totaled a .533 hitting percentage on 15 swings while Dighton had a .450 mark off 20 attack attempts. With all Southern Vt. players pitching in defensively, junior libero Florentino Escovedo (Fresno, Calif.) registered a match-high with just eight digs.
Blazer senior Bryson Rainey (Brookline, Mass.) led the team with seven kills while adding five digs and two block assists, and senior setter Kordel Latimer (Lynn, Mass.) had 10 assists for EC on the night. Latimer also put up a team-best seven digs while adding a pair of block assists. Elms sophomore libero Roger Conklin (Chicopee, Mass.) chipped in with four digs in the defensive effort.
The first set saw the Blazers hang tough, trailing by just two at 10-8 in the early going and then 15-12 a few points later. But the Mountaineers took to a 10-1 run that included four straight kills (two by Barahona and two by Dighton) to seal the first point in the match. Barahona tallied nine kills in the opening box, putting him just one shy of the milestone.
He wouldn't be on that fence for long, however, as the senior hitter put down his 1,000th kill for the first point of the second frame on an assist by Ayala. The Mountaineers carried that momentum through the second, racing out to a 13-1 lead to start the game. SVC miscues helped the Blazers, accounting for eight of their 10 points in the set. Still, Southern Vt. kept up its efficiency to move on to the 25-10 game victory and appear to be in control of the match.
Collecting eight out of 10 points in an early stretch of the third, SVC found itself up 13-5 with the match win in sight. Elms chipped away at its deficit, closing down to 21-15 on a kill by sophomore Ethan Etheridge (Pawtucket, R.I.). The Blazers then scored seven of the next eight points, again with help from SVC unforced errors, to tie it up at 22-22. Barahona elected not to extend his home career and put down two kills to set the contest at match point. He went for the victory but couldn't get the attack through the Blazer block game, giving Elms one last chance. Eventually, the ball got to Fitzgerald who landed a kill and wrap up the victory for SVC.
The Mountaineers finish the regular season this weekend at the Mass. Institute of Technology Scramble in Cambridge, Mass., taking on Elmira College (5 p.m.) and Hunter College (7 p.m.) Friday evening. Elms now sets its sights on a season-ending road match at Daniel Webster College slated for 4 p.m. on Saturday.
Seniors Anthony Ayala (left) and Anthony Barahona (right) pose with Coach Jones (middle) and their Senior Night gifts
