Men's Volleyball Defeats Mustangs 3-0 in Straight Sets

February 19, 2015 NEWTON, Mass. – After three games away from Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) men's volleyball play, Mount Ida returned to face rivals Lasell College on Thursday night but suffered a 3-0 loss to the Lasers at Mount Ida Athletic Center.

The setback sends the Mustangs to a 2-10 record, and keeps them looking for their first GNAC win of the year (0-3), while Lasell improves to 10-3 (2-1 GNAC) and wins the battle of Newton for the 20th consecutive time.

Led by senior Dan Raffol (Natick, Mass.), who piled up 13 kills and hit .400 for the match, the Lasers won by scores of 25-17, 25-21, 25-18.

Mount Ida got ten kills from junior outside hitter James Ames (W. Hartford, Conn.) and seven kills from sophomore Peter Griffenkranz (Deer Park, N.Y.), along with 17 assists from junior Jimmy Wessel (DeKalb, Ill.).

Lasell wasted no time jumping out to an 11-6 in the first set after a 6-2 run that was capped by kills by Raffol and Drew Caruso (Haverhill, Mass.). Caruso was one of three Laser players to record four kills in the game and he also served one of Lasell's two aces.

Mount Ida fought back to pull within three points (13-10), but a 7-0 run by the Lasers that included two straight kills by Raffol helped them separate themselves for the first set win.

Set two was closer, with the teams tied through 18 points apiece. Raffol recorded a kill and then a service ace, then the teams traded service errors to keep the Lasell lead at two. The Lasers then got two kills from Ryan Jackson (Canton, Ohio) and a kill from Dalton Whitman (Meriden, Conn.) before Patrick MacDonald (Floral Park, N.Y.) slammed home the game-winning point.

MacDonald had seven kills in the match for the Lasers, and junior Andrew Glenn (Westport, Conn.) ran the offense smoothly by setting up 25 kills.

In the third set, Mount Ida turned a 9-5 deficit into an 11-9 lead with junior Dennis Miranda (Havana, Cuba) serving an ace and then forcing three straight attacking errors.

Jackson ended the run with a kill, but Mount Ida still led 15-14 before a 10-0 run from Lasell put the Mustangs at the threat of elimination. Though the Mustangs would win three straight points, Davonte Johnson delivered the victory for the Lasers with his first kill of the night.

Sophomore Andrew Shaw (Anaheim, Calif.) had seven digs and three kills in a losing effort for Mount Ida, while Raffol led the Lasers with eight digs.

Ames had two of the Mustang's four service aces and six digs, along with a solo block and an assisted block. Mount Ida travels to Troy, N.Y. on Sunday afternoon for a tri-match against Yeshiva and Sage Colleges, with the games at 11:00 AM and 3:00 PM.

Lasell hosts Johnson & Wales on Saturday at 1:00 pm in another GNAC contest.

Recap courtesy of Mount Ida College Sports Information