Fabrizio Joins “The Grand Club” With 1,000th Career Assist at Cougar Classic

DALLAS, Pa. - Senior setter Roman Fabrizio (Salem, N.H.) became only the eighth player in program history to record 1,000 career assists, reaching the milestone on Friday evening at the Misericordia Cougar Classic in Dallas, Pa. Emmanuel College opened up the Classic by splitting its matches with the host Cougars and Medaille University as the Saints fell to Misericordia, 3-2 (25-18, 22-25, 18-25, 25-21, 15-9) in the opener before regrouping for a 3-0 (25-20, 26-24, 25-17) sweep over Medaille in the nightcap in which Fabrizio dished out the landmark helper. The win was also the 100th career victory for EC Head Coach Bori May.

Fabrizio Joins “The Grand Club” With 1,000th Career Assist at Cougar Classic
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Team Stats

January 27, 2023

THE BASICS 
 Score: 
Misericordia, 3 – Emmanuel, 2 (25-18, 22-25, 18-25, 25-21, 15-9)
Emmanuel, 3 – Medaille, 0 (25-20, 26-24, 25-17)

Records: 
Emmanuel College Saints (4-2, 0-1 GNAC)
Misericordia University Cougars (3-6, 0-0 MAC)
Medaille University Mavericks (1-4, 0-1 AMCC)

Location: Dallas, Pa. – Doc Mould Court (Misericordia)

Date: Friday, January 27, 2023

THE LEAD – Senior setter Roman Fabrizio (Salem, N.H.) became only the eighth player in program history to record 1,000 career assists, reaching the milestone on Friday evening at the Misericordia Cougar Classic in Dallas, Pa. Emmanuel College opened up the Classic by splitting its matches with the host Cougars and Medaille University as the Saints fell to Misericordia, 3-2 (25-18, 22-25, 18-25, 25-21, 15-9) in the opener before regrouping for a 3-0 (25-20, 26-24, 25-17) sweep over Medaille in the nightcap in which Fabrizio dished out the landmark helper. The win was also the 100th career victory for EC Head Coach Bori May.

HOW IT HAPPENED (vs. Misericordia)

  • EC got off to a fast start in the opening set taking a 7-4 lead following a kill by senior middle hitter Josh McDonald (Smithtown, N.H.). The three-point lead stayed at 14-11 after a block by McDonald and first year Trey Guest (Newington, Conn.) but the hosts responded with a 9-1 run that included a pair of aces by Anthony DePalma (Wayne, N.J.) to move the Cougars out in front, 20-15. Emmanuel was unable to answer as MU held on for the 25-18 win.
  • The squads traded points in early set two action to a 5-5 score before EC sophomore Thor Yingling (Truro, Mass.) served up an ace to give Emmanuel the lead for good in the second frame. EC led by as many as five (19-14) during play and despite a late surge by Misericordia, held on for the 25-22 win to even the match at 1-1.
  • The Saints rode the momentum in the third, hitting a match-best .438 in the set (9-2-16) to cruise to a 25-18 win but it was cut short in the fourth when the Cougars punched back with 15 kills and a 25-21 win to force the decisive fifth frame.
  • With the score knotted at 3-3 in the fifth, the hosts rattled off four straight points to pull ahead 7-3 and force EC to burn a timeout. Emmanuel pulled to within two at 9-7 but the Cougars closed the match on a 6-2 flurry to pull out the 3-2 comeback win over EC.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS (vs. Misericordia)

  • DePalma led all players with a match and career-high 26 kills, adding five digs and three aces for MU.
  • Guest ended with a team-best 10 kills and a season-high seven block assists.
  • Yingling chipped in with nine winners while McDonald and sophomore Jyles Amirault (Andover, Mass.) posted seven kills each.
  • Fabrizio ended with 33 assists in the loss to put him 11 shy of 1,000 heading into the second match.

HOW IT HAPPENED (vs. Medaille)

  • Emmanuel opened the match hitting .400 (14-4-25), cruising to a 25-20 win in set one.
  • The Mavericks tightened their net play in the second frame and won the kill battle, 11-8 in the set, but several costly service errors allowed Emmanuel to sneak by for a 26-24 win to take the 2-0 lead in the match.
  • Fabrizio entered the final set with eight assists, needing three to hit 1,000 and it came on a ball to Guest who slammed home a kill to give EC a 7-4 lead early in the action.
  • The Saints rode the momentum to the end, besting Medaille 25-17 to post the 3-0 victory.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS (vs. Medaille)

  • 10 different players registered kills in the win for Emmanuel as Michael Shelley () recorded a team-high eight kills while Guest recorded seven kills in the win.
  • Fabrizio ended the match with 21 assists.
  • MU senior Malachi Jackson (Cheektowaga, N.Y.) and sophomore George Muriel (Hamburg, N.Y.) paced Medaille with eight kills each.
  • EC first year libero Nick Sciabica (Floral Park, N.Y.) recorded seven digs.
  • The win was also the 100th career victory for EC Head Coach Bori May who becomes the first men's volleyball coach in program history to reach the milestone win club.

UP NEXT

  • The Saints have two more matches tomorrow as part of the Cougar Classic. They take on Baldwin Wallace at 11:00 AM before a 3:00 PM afternoon tilt vs. No. 15 Nazareth College.