Lasers Mount a 3-0 Victory over the Mustangs
NEWTON, MA- The Lasell College men's volleyball team picked up their fourth Great Northeast Athletic Conference victory on Monday night against neighboring rivals Mount Ida College, 3-0. The Lasers took down the Mustangs by scores of 30-25, 30-22, and 30-19 to improve their overall record to 9-4 this season and 4-1in the GNAC.
Lasell pulled ahead 10-5 immediately in the first game with a couple kills from junior middle Dan Rogers (Belchertown, MA). Mount Ida mounted a comeback to close within two points of the Lasers at 13-11, but Lasell regained momentum and rocketed to a 17-12 advance over the hosts just a few moments later.
The Mustangs knotted the score at 22-all by capitalizing on Lasell errors, then took their first lead since the opening points (2-1), going ahead 24-22 after a solo block by Tom Belton (Springfield, MA). Lasell however, only allowed Mount Ida one more point as they went on an 8-1 run to steal away with set one, 30-25.
Set two was very close in the beginning as the Lasers held just a two point edge over the hosts early on, at 10-8. Lasell jumped further ahead, 20-14, after Matt Roberts (Agawam, MA) dropped in a kill from the right side. Mount Ida eventually succumbed to a 30-22 defeat in game two.
Lasell dominated game three from the opening serve, building a commanding double-digit lead at 26-13 after an 11-7 run. The Mustangs came within nine points of Lasell (27-18) but the Lasers offense was too powerful and the Lasers secured a 3-0 match win with a 30-19 third set.
The Mustangs were led by Hastings with six kills and two total blocks while senior Shane Wilson (Gloucester, MA/Gloucester) added eight digs. Florexil pitched in one solo block and two block assists.
Lasell was led by GNAC Rookie of the Week honoree Spencer Parker (Newington, CT), who hit a 47.1% attack percentage, good for 12 kills. He also contributed three aces to the Lasers success.
Brendan McGourn (Southington, CT) put up a game-high 27 assists in the three sets, while also slamming down seven kills on twelve attempts with no errors. Max Vaughan (Wethersfield, CT) collected a team-high nine digs in the match.
Lasell returns to their home court on Thursday, February 18th for a GNAC match with Emmanuel College at 7:00 p.m.
