Lasers Tame Mustangs with 3-0 Victory

NEWTON, MA-- The Lasell College men’s volleyball team put away the Mount Ida College Mustangs, 3-0, on Tuesday night in the final Great Northeast Athletic Conference men’s volleyball match of the regular season.

Thomas Belton (Spingfield, MA) gave Mount Ida the first point with a inside line kill to put the Mustangs on top 1-0 in game one. The visitors then took a 6-4 lead capitalizing on Laser errors.  A kill to the back line by Lasell’s Alex Mill (Danville, NH) evened the score to 7-all and a Dan Rogers (Belchertown, MA) kill off an overpass put Lasell ahead, 8-7.

After a 10-all tie, the Lasers went on an 8-2 run to take a six point lead.  The Lasers held onto at least a five point advantage for the remainder of the first set, which they won 30-21.

Rogers had six kills in the first set and Harry Strobel (Westport, CT) contributed four.  For the Mustangs, Belton put down three attacks.

Lasell took an 11-5 lead to open the second set. The Mustangs came back within four points at 18-14, capped by an individual block by Spencer Hastings (Orlando, FL).  Mount Ida closed the gap even more after a hitting error by Lasell brought the score to 19-16, however, Lasell turned the momentum around after a double-block by Brendan McGourn (Southington, CT) and Mike Harrington (Billerica, MA).  The hosts moved into a seven point lead (26-19) and then closed the game, 30-23.

The third set was tight through the opening minutes, with three ties before either team hit double-figures.  Lasell reached the ten point mark first (10-8) on a block by Rogers in the middle. The Lasers remained in the lead, though only by a small margin, until at 22-18, Mount Ida went on a 6-0 run and took the lead, 24-22.  Lasell evened the score at 24-all, and regained control of the scoreboard, at 26-25, after a kill by senior Andy Cass (Wakefield, RI).

The hosts earned game-point after a Mustang attack error, and Rogers sealed the win on a middle attack, 30-28. 

Rogers hit 73.3% in the match, producing a game-high 12 kills on 15 attempts, with no errors.  He also contributed three digs and two blocks.  Cass dropped in ten total kills and picked up seven digs on defense and Strobel finished the night with eight total kills.

McGourn ended the game with 38 assists and five digs and libero Chris Burns (Chelmsford, MA) had game-high eight digs.

Despite the defeat, Belton tallied nine kills and added four digs.  Setters Eddie Pinero (Inwood, NY) and Franklin McCaffrey (East Greenwich, RI) combined for 26 assists, with McCaffrey tying for a game-best eight digs.

The Lasers return to action on Thursday night for their final regular season match against University of New Haven at 7:00 p.m. in the Athletic Center.  The game will also mark senior night for the Lasers who will honor their sole senior, Andy Cass, prior to the match.