Men's Volleyball Goes 3-1 Over Weekend at SUNYIT Invitational

Utica, NY-The Lasell College men's volleyball team went 3-1 over the weekend at the SUNYIT Wildcat Invitational.  The Lasers dropped one match to Stevenson College, then swept in straight matches against Lancaster Bible, Sage College, and SUNYIT.   Lasell finished the weekend with a 4-2 overall record.

Lasell opened the weekend with a 3-0 loss to Stevenson, by scores of 30-27, 30-18, and 30-23.  Micah Aiu (Honolulu, HI) had an impressive performance, putting down 11 kills, while swinging a .526 clip.  Aiu also collected four digs on defense.

Freshman outside hitter Spencer Parker (Newington, CT) and junior outside Mike Harrington (Billerica, MA) also had good showings for Lasell.  Parker attacked for nine kills, while picking up seven digs, and adding two blocks.  Harrington was good for six kills, while playing tremendous defense at the net with five total blocks in the match.

Brendan McGourn (Southington, CT), Lasell's sophomore setter, distributed 18 assists in the match, adding three digs and three kills.  McGourn swung for 60%, going three-for-five with no errors.

Additionally, freshman libero Chris Burns (Chelmsford, MA) collected a game-high nine dug balls, and freshman outside Will Leclerc (Fairfield, CT) dug up seven more.

The second match of the day pitted the Lasers against Sage College, resulting in a quick three set sweep.  Lasell won the match 30-13, 30-16, and 30-17.

McGourn passed out 24 helpers to his front row, including a team-best 13 kills by junior right side Matt Roberts (Agawam, MA).  Also seeing much of the action at the net was junior middle hitter Dan Rogers (Belchertown, MA).  Rogers swung eight-for-eleven, earning points on 72.7% of his attacks.  He also added three service aces.

Harrington made his mark with seven kills and three additional blocks.   In the back row, freshman Max Vaughn (Wethersfield, CT) collected a game-best five digs.

During the second day of competition, Lasell edged the home team by scores of 30-25, 30-25, and 30-21.  SUNY could not compete with Lasell's balanced attack, which was predominantly led by Parker, Aiu, Rogers, and Harrington.  Parker and Aiu each downed eight balls while Rogers and Harrington had six and five kills respectively.

Leclerc and Vaughn combined for 13 digs and McGourn dished out 34 assists in the match.

The final match of the weekend matched up the Lasers against Lancaster Bible College.  Harrington was a force in the front row, knocking down 12 kills on 20 total attempts with no errors.  The veteran outside hitter also produced four solo and four assisted blocks in the contest. 

Parker came close to matching Harrington on offense with 10 kills on 14 attempts, hitting 57%.  The rookie outside had two individual blocks also.

McGourn finished the tournament putting up a solid 39 assists in the Lancaster match, while tying with Burns for a team-best six digs as well.  The setter completed the tournament averaging 10.5 assists per set. 

Rogers' weekend was complete with only one hitting error in ten sets, averaging 2.3 kills per set and swinging over 40% in the four matches.

The Lasers' men's volleyball team returns to home-court action on Tuesday, February 2^nd at 7:00 p.m. when they will face off with Albertus Magnus College.  The match will be the first Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) contest of the season for both teams.