Box | Tournament site
HYANNIS, Mass. -- Fifteenth-seeded Nazareth pulled off a stunning upset Friday in the opening round of the North East Collegiate Volleyball Association Tournament as the Golden Flyers outlasted second-seeded Baruch in five sets. Scores were 23-30, 30-27, 30-25, 33-35, 15-12.

Nazareth improved to 16-14 overall and advanced to Saturday's quarterfinals in the 16-team event at the Hyannis Youth and Community Center. The Golden Flyers will play again at 11 a.m. against seventh-seeded Rampo, a three-set winner over 10th-seeded Stevens. Baruch, ranked fifth nationally in Division III, completed its season with a record of 32-5.

Junior Ellis Walsh paced the Golden Flyers with 18 kills against just two hitting errors in 36 attempts for a .444 hitting percentage. He also had six blocks. Sophomore Billy Gimello, who has missed much of the 2010 season with an assortment of injuries, returned to action and contributed 14 kills and five digs. Freshman setter EJ Wells-Spicer had 54 assists and seven digs.

In the fifth and decisive set, the score was tied at 12-12 when Nazareth took the lead for good, 13-12, as Walsh and Hans Schroeder blocked a Baruch hitting attempt. Baruch hit its next attempt out of bounds for another point and Schroeder clinched the victory with a kill for the 15th point off an assist from Wells-Spicer.

Nazareth's win in the fifth set followed a grueling fourth set in which Nazareth led 32-31 before Baruch rallied to win 35-33.

Three other Nazareth players posted double-digit kill totals in Schroeder (13), junior Will Siwy (12) and freshman Robert Kraft (10), who also added six service aces.