PROVIDENCE, RI – One of the toughest non-conference schedules in the country is starting to pay off for the Johnson & Wales University men's volleyball team. The Wildcats won two GNAC contests on Saturday, taking down Emmanuel 3-1 (16-25, 25-18, 25-18, 25-23) and Emerson 3-0 (25-16, 25-14, 2516) 

Records:
Johnson & Wales: 6-9, 3-1 GNAC
Emerson: 5-7, 1-3 GNAC
Emmanuel: 6-6, 1-3 GNAC

JWU Statistical Leaders:
Brendan Baker: 11 Kills, 8 Digs 5 Blocks vs. Emmanuel
Cameron Ponce: 33 Assists, 7 Digs, 5 Blocks, 6 Kills
Kyle Eva: 9 Kills, 3 Blocks .818 Hitting Percentage vs. Emerson

The Lead:
After losing to a pair of nationally ranked team's at the Golden Flyer Tournament, Johnson & Wales has won four of its last five matches, including three in conference. The Wildcats 3-1 GNAC record is their best start to the GNAC schedule since the 2006 edition went 4-0.

As the Emmanuel match swung in Johnson & Wales' favor, it was the JWU blocking that was the difference. For the match, the Wildcats out-blocked the Saints, 16.5-to-6. That helped JWU hold a .234-to-.119 hitting percentage margin.

Six different Wildcats had at least five kills, led by Brendan Baker's  (Proidence, RI) team-high 11. He's had double-digit kills in his last three matches.  Kyle Eva (Charlestown, RI) led the blocking attack with nine stuffs as five players had four or more rejections. Setter Cameron Ponce (San Jose, Calif.) had a strong all-around game, notching 33 assists, six kills, seven digs and five blocks. 

After the Wildcats dropped the first set to the Saints, the Wildcats took an early lead in set two, but allowed EC back into the match at 11-9. JWU put the set away with an 8-3 run that included three Saint attack errors and two kills from Alex Seda (San Juan, Puerto Rico). Similarly in the third set, the Saints got the set to 7-4 with a kill, but JWU responded with a 10-2 run that was highlighted by four blocks and kills from four different players.  The Wildcats appeared to have the fourth set and the match at hand up 18-13, but allowed the Saints to tie it at 19-19 and take a 22-22 lead. Two EC miscues and a Ponce kill gave the JWU the match.

Johnson & Wales serve was the difference against Emerson. The Wildcats had 10 aces and got the Lions out of rotation in the second and third sets. Johnson & Wales jumped out to 10-2 leads in both the second and third sets thanks to their serve. EC pulled to within 15-13 in the first set, but Kanila Chang (Orlando, Fla.) went on a five point run to give the Wildcats a 21-13 cushion.

Middle blocker Kyle Eva (Charlestown, RI) was nearly perfect offensively, hitting .818 with eight kills. Johnson & Wales hit a season-high .391 while limiting the visitors to .012 thanks again to another solid blocking effort. JWU had 11 blocks to the Lions' three with middle blocker Rakeem Malone (St. Thomas, USVI) accounting for  six rejections.

Up Next
Johnson & Wales goes on the road Monday when it takes on Mount Ida at 6 p.m.