WESTON, Mass. – Regis College Men's Volleyball came out on top, in a five-set thriller over the Raiders from Rivier University, to advance to the Semifinals of the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) postseason tournament.

Brandon Valdes (Miami, Florida) led the charge for the Pride with a dominant 20 kills, while Adam Bonica (Quincy, Mass.) and Eddie Djatcha (Lowell, Mass.) contributed 12 and 11, respectively. Djatcha also made his presence felt at the net with four blocks. Tyrell Bucasas (Waialua, Hawaii) orchestrated the offense with an impressive 53 assists, while Jay Bodhidatta (Bangkok, Thailand) anchored the defense with 21 digs.

Racine Camara powered the Raiders' attack with 13 kills, while Cody Fitzpatrick added eight, with both players also contributing 10 digs. The duo of Cade Barron and Nilson Perez facilitated the offense, each recording 21 assists, while Bassam Awde made his presence known at the net with a game-high six blocks.

How it Happened:

• A Jalen Watt (South Hadley, Mass.) kill would double-up the score at 6-3 before a kill from Valdes, put the Pride up 12-5, forcing the Raiders to call a timeout. Later in the set big block by Bonica and Djatcha extended the lead to 16-8, bringing the crowd to its feet and fueling the momentum as the Pride closed out the first set, 25-15.
• Set two was a tightly contested battle, with neither team gaining more than a three-point edge. In the end, a clutch kill from Bonica secured the 25-23 victory for the Pride.
• The Raiders came out strong in the third set, using four early kills to jump out to a 7-2 lead. After falling behind by as many as nine a Djatcha kill trimmed the deficit to seven (18-11), but the Raiders maintained control, leading by as many as 10 on three separate occasions before closing out the set with a 25-15 win.
• A pair of attack errors gave Regis a five-point cushion at 14-9, but Riv responded with a four-point run to cut the deficit to one. A clutch kill from John Nangle (Lowell, Mass.) halted their momentum, making it 15-13. The set saw ties at 17, 18, 19, and 20 before the Raiders surged with four unanswered points to secure a 25-22 victory, forcing a decisive fifth set.
• The fifth set featured five ties and three lead changes before the Pride surged ahead with four unanswered points, capped by a Valdes kill for a 9-6 lead. Valdes later delivered a crucial block to keep his squad in control at 12-9. Rivier stayed within striking distance, cutting the deficit to 13-12, but back-to-back kills from Bonica and Djatcha sealed the set and secured the 3-2 match victory for the Pride, securing their spot in the GNAC Semifinals.

Inside the Numbers:

• With their win tonight, the Pride secured their first-ever postseason victory in the GNAC and reached their first 20-win season in program history.
• Valdes set a career high with 20 kills as a sophomore.
• Senior setter Tyrell Bucasas recorded a career-best 54 assists in the victory.

Up Next:

The Pride will travel to Wentworth to face the top-seeded Leopards in the Semifinals of the GNAC Postseason Tournament on Thursday, April 10th, at 7 p.m.