Lasers Stopped by Nighthawks, 3-0

Newbury College senior outside hitter Bryan McDermand (Palatine, IL) put down a match-high 15 kills and 5 service aces en route to a 3-0 triumph over the Lasell College men's volleyball team.  Though the Lasers were paced by senior outside Dave Rogers (Belchertown, Mass.), who knocked down 9 kills, and sophomore middle Mike Harrington (Billerica, Mass.) who hit a .417 clip, the Nighthawks flew away with the match in three sets; 30-24, 30-17, and 30-20.

Harrington was strong at the net for Lasell in the first set, scoring on 4 of 5 attempts to lead for the Lasers, who trailed from the onset of the game. However, it was McDermand who put away a set-high six kills, fed by Newbury's Matthew Sadowski (Feeding Hills, Mass.) who picked up 12 assists in the set.

Lasell began game two with a renewed energy.  The Lasers tied the game early at 8-all, then had to chip away at a slight deficit before a perfectly placed kill to short corner by Dave Rogers brought Lasell within one point, at 15-16. The Nighthawks, however, soared into action as McDermand went on an eleven point service run, and finished the set off with a back row kill, assisted by Matt Talamantes (Sylmar, CA).

The third set was similar to the second, in that Lasell kept the game close until about the midway point.  Rogers hit a .500 clip, going 5 of 8 attempts, and Zack Smith (Agawam, Mass.) stepped in to set, picking up 12 assists throughout.  Joshua Aberly (Palatine, IL) had a set-high five kills, and Talamantes tallied another 15 assists for the Nighthawks as they closed out the match.

Dustin Foster (Ashford, Conn.) added 5 kills in the match and Harrington finished the evening with 6 total kills for the Lasers. Gary Gay (Belchertown, Mass.) added a team-high 6 digs to go along with 15 total assists, and Dave Rogers and Joe Lipski (Burlington, Conn.) had 4 digs apiece.

For the Nighthawks, libero Michael Biuso (South Setauket, NY) came up with 10 digs, while Aberly closed out the match with 10 kills on 18 attempts, and picked up an additional 6 digs.  Mark Thomas (Wilbraham, Mass.) was dominant at the net as middle blocker, picking up one solo and four assisted blocks to go along with 8 kills. Talamantes finished with 27 assists in two sets.

The Nighthawks improved on their overall record, which stands at 6-1.  Lasell's record is now 2-1 this season overall, and 1-0 in the GNAC.

Lasell has a week off before hosting Emmanuel College in GNAC action on Tuesday, February 3rd, at 7:00 p.m.