LASERS FINISH 3RD AT MIT INVITATIONAL

Cambridge, Mass- The Lasers men's volleyball team made way to the best finish ever at the MIT Invitational Tournament this weekend going 3-1 and finishing in third behind Emmanuel and MIT. 

The Lasers started the weekend with a 5 set win over University of New Haven.  Lasell pulled out a 30-25 victory in the first game, then traded off wins with the Chargers over the next four sets, culminating in a 21-19 Laser victory in the fifth.

Dustin Foster (Ashford, Conn.) was impressive with 18 kills, 9 digs and 6 total blocks.  Foster had a .417 attack percentage, swinging 36 total times with just three errors.  Trevor Foster (Ashford, Conn.) also put up notable numbers at the net for the Lasers with 12 kills and 9 digs, and 6 total blocks.  Both Fosters added a service ace to their accolades.

David Rogers (Belchertown, Mass.) and Matt Roberts (Agawam, Mass.) combined for 25 kills and 14 digs, and Brendan McGourn (Southington, Conn.) set up the hitters with 52 assists in the five set match. McGourn also added 12 digs and 3 block assists to the mix.  Senior libero Joseph Lipski (Burlington, Conn.) dug 15 balls for Lasell in the victory.

This match marked the second time this season the Lasers and the Chargers met.  In the first encounter, the Chargers pulled out a five set victory in a 25 extra points match.  The two teams meet again on Thursday, March 12th at Lasell's home court.

The Lasers then closed out a 2-0 Saturday with a four game win over Bard College.  After dropping the first set 28-30, the Lasers came back to sweep the next three sets, 31-29, 31-29, 30-26.

Trevor Foster was the big hitter for the Lasers in the contest with 16 kills on 31 attempts, hitting 45.2%.  Foster added 6 more blocks on the day as well.  Roberts hit .500 with 12 kills, adding 10 digs for a double-double and Rogers put down 9 kills, dug 11 balls and added 2 service aces.

McGourn once again tallied a distinguished 54 assists in the match, but combined that with 4 kills, seven digs, 2 aces, and one solo block.  The Lasers defense was particularly strong as Lipski, Gary Gay (Belchertown, Mass.) and Tyler Hammond (Hadley, Mass.) had 37 digs between them.  Lipski and Gay were awarded 12 apiece and Hammond collected 13.

Lasell started Sunday's competition with a tough MIT squad who closed the match in three: 30-23, 30-28, 30-20.  Trevor Foster and Mike Harrington (Billerica, Mass.) each put down 9 kills to lead for Lasell, with Dave Rogers adding 7 in.  The team as a whole hit .319, but it was not enough to keep the Lasers from falling to the hosting Engineers.  McGourn had 24 assists and five digs, while Lipski picked up 6 digs and Hammond added five more in the loss.

The Lasers finished the weekend securing third place with a victory over Mount Saint Vincent, 3-1. Once again the Lasers came back from a first game defeat to take the second through fourth sets.  Trevor Foster finished off an incredible weekend with 12 kills, hitting nearly 70% and adding 3 solo blocks and 4 assisted blocks.  Dave Rogers and Roberts each tallied 6 kills and Dustin Foster marked seven more.  Dustin Foster also struck with three aces and 3 blocks. 

Lipski ended the weekend adding ten digs and McGourn dished out 40 more assists.  McGourn (right) was selected to the All-Tournament team for his 170 assist, 10.6 assist per game performance over the weekend.

The Lasers are back in action on Thursday when they face the Chargers of University of New Haven for the third time this season.  Match begins at 7:00 p.m.