Men's Volleyball Hands Wentworth First Conference Loss 3-0

NEWTON, Mass. (2/26/15) – Junior Jeffrey Vautrin (Chicopee, Mass.) earned his third double-double of the season as the Lasell College men's volleyball team defeated the Wentworth Institute of Technology 3-0 by set scores of 25-14, 25-17 and 25-22 in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) action inside the Lasell College Athletic Center Gymnasium.

Vautrin registered 12 kills, a team-high 10 digs and a pair of service aces to pace the Lasers, while sophomore Patrick MacDonald (Floral Park, N.Y.) recorded a match-high 13 kills to go along with eight digs and a match-high .522 hitting percentage. Junior Andrew Glenn (Westport, Conn.) dished out a match-high 39 assists and Dan Raffol (Natick, Mass.) tallied 11 kills, eight digs and two service aces. Lasell combined for a .382 hitting percentage over the three set victory.

Wentworth sophomore Jake Reed (Arvada, Colo.) tallied eight kills, while sophomore Collin Ritter (Feeding Hills, Mass.) handed out a team-high 20 assists and bumped up six digs. Freshman Sean Mullen (Longwood, Calif.) registered a match-high three service aces.

The Leopards jumped out to an early 6-3 lead in the first set after Reed tallied his first kill of the match on a feed from Ritter. The Lasers responded with a 14-5 spurt of their own to take a 17-11 lead midway through the opening set. Vautrin held the serve for four straight points for Lasell and registered a service ace to cap the run, while junior Drew Caruso (Haverhill, Mass.) tallied two straight kills from Glenn over the rally. Lasell went on another stint to score the first sets' eight of 11 points. Raffol recorded a service ace and MacDonald had two straight kills to end the set 25-14. The Lasers used a .593 hitting percentage to claim the opening set.

Tied at 9-9 half way through the second set, the Lasers went on a 13-4 run to take a 22-13 lead. Vautrin potted a kill from Glenn to make the score 18-13, which was followed by three straight successful serves from Vautrin. Both squads traded points to close the middle set, but the Lasers were able to hang on to win the set 25-17 and take a 2-0 advantage in the match.

The Lasers led end-to-end in the third and final set with a 6-1 run to open the set. Wentworth closed the gap to two points (9-7) after an attacking error from Lasell. With the score 16-9 in favor of the hosts, Wentworth reeled off eight of the next 10 points to pull within one at 18-17. The run was highlighted by a pair of kills by sophomore Alex Potts (Niverville, N.Y.) and a service ace from Mullen. Lasell maintained its' advantage with a kill from junior Ryan Jackson (Canton, Ohio) to seal the set 25-22 and a 3-0 sweep.

Lasell (13-3, 4-1 GNAC) hosts Rivier University in GNAC action on Tuesday, March 3 at 7:00 p.m., while Wentworth (13-4, 4-1 GNAC) welcomes non-conference Newbury College on Thursday, March 5 at 7:00 p.m.