Men's Volleyball Splits Tri-Match with Dominican and Endicott

NEWTON, Mass. (3/8/2015) – The Lasell College men's volleyball team went 1-1 in Sunday afternoon's tri-match versus No. 14 Dominican University and Endicott College inside the Lasell College Athletic Center Gymnasium. With the split, Lasell improved to 15-4 overall, while Dominican climbed to 10-7 and Endicott fell to 8-9 this season.

Senior Dan Raffol (Natick, Mass.) compiled 37 kills and 14 digs over the two matches, while sophomore Patrick Macdonald (Floral Park, N.Y.) registered a season-high 17 kills and a .424 hitting percentage in the match against Endicott, totaling 23 for the afternoon. Junior Andrew Glenn (Westport, Conn.) tallied 35 assists versus Dominican and 46 against Endicott to total 81 in the tri-match, while junior Ryan Jackson (Canton, Ohio) compiled six block assists in the match versus Endicott.

DOMINICAN 3, LASELL 0 (25-23, 25-21, 25-22)

In the opening set Dominican climbed out to an early 6-2 lead, but the Lasers fought their way back to knot the score at 10-10 after Macdonald spiked the ball over the net for his first kill of the match. Tied for the fifth time in the set at 19-19, the Stars used a pair of kills by sophomore Mason Solbrig (Lindenhurst, Ill.) and a kill via classmate Jeremy Royko (Naperville, Ill.) to claim the first set 25-23. The second set featured points back and forth by both teams as the Lasers were able to close the gap to single points on nine different occasions.

The Stars held their own and closed the second set with a kill from freshman Luke Spicer (St. Charles, Ill.) to make the score 25-21 and a 2-0 advantage in sets. In the third and final set, Lasell jumped out to a 6-3 lead after Jackson, junior Jeff Vautrin (Chicopee, Mass.) and Raffol each tallied kills over the stretch. The Stars went on a 10-4 run highlighted by three straight points from Spicer and two consecutive kills by Royko. From that point forward both teams traded points over the net, but the visitors held on for a 25-22 set score and a 3-0 opening match victory.

Dominican University dominated the net with three straight sets against Endicott College during the tri-match.  Junior Daniel Seaver (Milford, Mass.) recorded a game-high 14 kills and 14.5 points and junior Cameron Little (San Diego, Calif.) set the ball 27 times in the Gulls loss.  Freshman Brad McFarland (Tinley Park, Ill.) tallied 10 kills in the Stars defeat.  Overall, Dominican out hit Endicott .271- .119.

Endicott cut the score in the second set by one with a bad set from freshman Luke Spicer (St. Charles, Ill.) (15-14).  The score toggled back and forth until the Stars went on a 4-2 run to close the set 25-21.  The Gulls came out strong during the third, scoring the first 11 of 15 points (11-5).  The Stars rallied for a comeback knotting the game at 15, where they began to tug away with the lead.  Dominican closed the set with a .263 hitting percentage over Endicotts' .161 percentage, ending on a final 25-21 victory.  

LASELL 3, ENDICOTT 2 (27-29, 25-22, 17-25, 28-26, 15-11)

In the final match of the day, Lasell went on an 8-3 rally during the fourth set (28-26) to force a deciding fifth set. Endicott knotted the score at eight points apiece, where they then took a two-point lead via a kill from Freshman Ryan Sutherland (Fairport, N.Y.) (12-11). The Lasers were resilient in the following plays, potting three straight points from an Endicott service error and a pail of kills from Raffol to steal the match 3-2.

On Tuesday, March 10 at 7:00 p.m. Lasell College will host Springfield College, Dominican will travel to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Endicott College will play at home against Regis College.