Lasell Drops Pair of GNAC Matches in Men's Volleyball

Boston, MA-The Lasell College men's volleyball team visited the Emerson Lions for a GNAC tri-match with Johnson and Wales University, losing 3-2 to Emerson and 3-0 versus Johnson and Wales. Emerson defeated Johnson and Wales in the third match of the day 3-2. After losing the pair, Lasell falls to 2-3 on the year and 0-2 in GNAC contests. Emerson is 5-6 overall and 2-2 in the GNAC, while Johnson and Wales stands at 5-7 and 2-4 in GNAC play.

Lasell versus Emerson

The opening match of the day versus Emerson proved to be a close affair; however the Lasers youthful squad couldn't find the level of consistency needed to pull out a win. Freshman Dan Raffol(Natick, MA) tallied 22 kills on 47 attacking attempts while junior Alex Mill(Danville, NH) added 18 kills and sophomore Tim Anderson(Danville, NH) chipped in with 12 kills. Freshman Matt Dugan(New Lenox, IL) finished the five set match with 59 assists for Lasell. Nadav Swarttz led Emerson with 16 kills, while Conor Burton and Eric Doherty added 12 and 11 kills respectively.

Emerson won the first set 30-28, Lasell fought off four set points to continue extending play, but were unable to overcome nine attacking errors and fell behind 1-0. In the second set, Emerson built a 10-8 lead, only to see the Lasers storm back, scoring nine unanswered points, to pull ahead 17-10 and coast to a 25-19 win.

Lasell jumped out to a 13-10 lead midway through the third set, only to watch Emerson respond with an 8-2 run, aided by 4 attacking errors from the Lasers. Emerson allowed a 6-1 run by the visitors, giving Lasell a 21-19 edge, but 4 consecutive attacking errors by Lasell gave Emerson the boost they needed. The Lions took six of the final seven points and closed out the third set 25-22 to go ahead 2-1 in the match.

The fourth set was the best effort from Lasell all day, as the Lasers tallied 18 kills and only four errors and picked up a 25-19 victory to draw even at 2-2. The fifth set was a back and forth affair that saw the six ties and four lead changes, including the final tie at 11-11. Three straight attacking errors by Lasell gave the hosts a 14-11 lead, and a kill by Emerson's Nadav Swarttz wrapped up the 3-2 victory for Emerson.

Lasell versus Johnson and Wales

The Lasers faced off against the Wildcats of Johnson and Wales in their second match of the day, falling 3-0 by scores of 25-11, 25-19 and 25-20. Lasell again struggled with their offensive attack, committing 24 attacking errors in the three set defeat. Dan Raffol(Natick, MA) and Alex Mill(Danville, NH) led the attack for Lasell, with 8 and 6 kills respectively, and freshman Matt Dugan(New Lenox, IL) contributed 23 assists in the match. Shawn Kennedy had a match high 11 kills for Johnson and Wales, and setter John Bosch tallied 28 total assists to eight different Wildcats.

The Wildcats got off to a fast start in the opening set, using a 3-0 run to take a 5-3 lead and never looking back en-route to an opening set victory 25-11. Johnson and Wales scored on 13 of 18 attacks in the opening set while only committing two attacking errors. Lasell on the other hand scored on 6 of their 23 attacks, but committed 8 attacking errors.

Johnson and Wales jumped out to a 4-0 lead early in the second set, but Lasell battled their way back into the set, drawing even at 11-11 and gaining some momentum. It was not to be however, as the Wildcats ran off 5 of the next six points to take a 16-12 lead and held off Lasell to take a 2-0 lead in the match.

The third set was a tight one in the early going, with no team leading by more than two points on the way to a Lasell 13-11 lead halfway through. The Wildcats then capitalized on Lasell mistakes, going on a 12-1 run to pull ahead 23-14. The Lasers worked to grind their way back into the match and force a fourth set, but Johnson and Wales closed them our 25-20 to complete the 3-0 victory.

The Lasers will host Wentworth at 7pm on Wednesday February 22^nd as they look to regain their winning form.