Lasers Shut Out Wildcats

Newton, MA--  Lasell's men's volleyball team shut out the visiting Johnson & Wales Wildcats, 3-0, in Great Northeast Athletic Volleyball play this evening at the Lasell Athletic Center.  The Lasers advanced their record to 8-4 after the three-set victory, while the Wildcats drop to 4-6 overall.

Lasell went on a 7-3 run to open the first set, finding their way around Johnson & Wales block and tipping into holes in the Wildcats defense.  Mike Harrington (Billerica, MA) had two consecutive kills, followed by another downed ball by Spencer Parker (Newington, CT) as Lasell advanced to a 14-7 edge.  The Wildcats came back with a huge solo block by Chandler Crawford (East Greenwich, RI) and a kill by Petar Yanakiev (Varna, Bulgaria) from the outside, 17-11, but a Harry Strobel (Westport, CT) point on an outside attack gave Lasell the side-out and cut the Wildcats streak.

Lasell pulled further ahead, 25-15, with Dan Rogers (Belchertown, MA) serving an ace to the visitors attack line, and held a double-figure advantage through the remainder of the set.  A middle quick by Rogers and a second kill on an JWU overpass sealed the final two points of the game, 30-19, in favor of Lasell.

Lasell took a 2-0 lead in the second game on a JWU service error and a individual block by Matt Roberts (Agawam, MA). The teams tied things up shortly thereafter on a Wildcat kill by Eric Minnich (Concord, CA) and a Laser blocking error.  After the Lasers went ahead by three points, 6-3, the Wildcats came back to take their first lead at 7-6, with an assisted block by Mark Garlock (East Greenwich, RI) and Crawford. Lasell eventually returned the score to their favor with a point notched by Harrington down the middle. 

The score knotted at 10-all, 11-all, and 12-all before JWU took a two point edge 14-12.  Lasell easily made their way back from the deficit and tied things up at 15-all and took the lead with a double-block by Harrington and Roberts.  Kills by Harrington and Parker put Lasell up 18-15, and Rogers topped it with an ace for Lasell's 19th point of the set.

The Lasers capped their 6-0 run with a kill by Roberts, after which Yanakiev put down a hard hit outside attack to earn the side-out.  Strobel's attack on the successive serve receive gave Lasell the possession back, and Lasell went on another four point stretch to produce a 24-17 edge.  On what could have been set-point, at 29-21, a Yanakiev kill prevented the Laser win, and the Wildcats fought their way back into the game with a 5-0 run, which included two kills by Yanakiev and a solo block each from Crawford and Robert Slough (Buffalo, NY).  A kill by Will Leclerc (Fairfield, CT) eventually finished the set, 30-25, and the Lasers took a two-set advantage in the match.

In the third set, Lasell went ahead 14-6 early, to dig a considerable hole for the Wildcats to find their way out of.   Leclerc struck a monster hit from the outside giving t he Lasers a double-digit lead, at 18-8, however in the following play Minnich snuck a tip over Lasell's block to regain control of the serve. JWU's control of possession was limited though as Roberts' opposite attack got Lasell another side out.  Shortly after, Lasell took a 22-9 edge as Micah Aiu (Honolulu, HI) drilled a middle hit into the floor.

The Wildcats did not give up though as they dug deep and went on an 8-0 comeback run with Yanakiev serving.  The sophomore put down four aces in the streak.  After a Laser time out, Leclerc put down the a right side attack and followed it up with an ace, bringing the score to 26-18.  Aui slammed down a middle hit through all JWU defenders for the 27th point.  Another service error by Lasell gave JWU a second chance at a run, but a triple block by Alex Mill (Danville, NH), Aui, and Brendan McGourn (Southington, CT) returned the side-out to Lasell's favor.  A service error by JWU sealed the three-set victory for Lasell, 30-20.

Rogers placed the ball well during the contest, leading the Lasers with nine kills.  Leclerc and Roberts each dropped in seven kills and Aui, Strobel, and Harrington finished with six a piece.

McGourn had 37 assists in the match, and also picked up a team-best 11 digs.  Strobel completed the game with nine digs for Lasell and Leclerc added six more. 

Yanakiev led all defenders with 12 digs in the match.  He also produced ten kills, serving five aces, and hitting a team best .269 clip.  Minnich had the top performance in the kill column, with 11 total, and Crawford put down two solo and two assisted blocks at the net.  Slough recorded 22 assists in the defeat. 

Lasell's next match is on Saturday, February 13th, when they will travel to Endicott College for a non-conference contest.  The Lasers and the Gulls face-off at 6:00 p.m.