Lasers Take Two GNAC Losses to JWU and Rivier, 3-1

PROVIDENCE, R.I. - The Lasell College men's volleyball team fell to Rivier University and Johnson and Wales University by scores of 3-1 in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) tri-match at the Wildcat Center on Saturday afternoon. The Lasers dropped the first game to the Raiders by set scores of 20-25, 25-15, 25-16, and 30-28 and the second match versus the Wildcats by scores of 20-25, 25-23, 25-19, 25-20. With the losses, Lasell falls to 17-7 overall and 5-3 in GNAC action, while Rivier improves to 11-9 with their first GNAC win 6-1 GNAC and Johnson & Wales moves to 16-7 and 4-3 in conference play.

Lasell junior Jeffrey Vautrin (Chicopee, Mass.) registered a team-high combined 38 kills to go alongside three service aces while hitting .317 and .333 against Rivier and Johnson & Wales, respectively. Classmate Andrew Glenn (Westport, Conn.) handed out 79 assists this afternoon, while senior Dan Raffol (Natick, Mass.) tallied 17 kills and junior Drew Caruso (Haverhill, Mass.) recorded two solo blocks and a pair of block assists. 

RIVIER 3, JOHNSON & WALES 2 (25-16, 21-25, 23-25, 25-23, 15-10)

In the opening set of the tri-match, River led from start to finish and held its largest advantage of nine points twice at 19-11 and 25-16. The Raiders jumped out to a 5-0 lead, but the Wildcats cut the deficit to two points (8-6) before Rivier closed the first set on a 15-10 run. The Raiders outhit the hosts by a margin of .382 to .029 to take a 1-0 advantage. The second set featured seven ties and four lead changes. A kill from Wildcat's senior J.J. Bessette (Coventry, R.I.) gave the hosts a 12-11 lead for the first time in the match. The score remained closed over the rest of the set, but JWU was able to hang to to a 25-21 lead to even the match, 1-1.  

With the score knotted at 23-23 in the closing points of the middle set, the Wildcats took a 2-1 set lead after a kill via senior Don Dias (Scituate, R.I.). With the scored tied at 2-2 after Rivier claimed the fourth set by a score of 25-23, the Raiders led from end to end in the final set (15-10). Rivier went on an early 6-1 run, before both teams traded points over the rest of the set as the Raiders held on to claim the opening match 3-2. 

RIVIER 3, LASELL 1 (20-25, 25-15, 25-16, 30-28)

The first set of the middle match featured 11 ties before the score landed at 20-20. Lasell went on a 5-0 spurt to close the set spurt as Vautrin held serve over the final five points and recorded two service aces that gave Lasell the opening set by a score of 25-20. Rivier maintained the lead the entire second set as the Raiders hit .650 and evened the score at 1-1 with a 25-15 set score. The deficit was two points for Lasell (11-9) before the Raiders went on a 9-2 run extend their advantage to 20-11.  

Rivier sophomore Tyler Blank (Rocherster, N.Y.) served five successful time in a row and senior Sam Kazias (Allentown, Pa.) registered three straight kills over a 5-0 spurt in the middle of their run. Both teams traded points, but Rivier held its lead for a 25-15 set score and a 2-1 advantage in the match. Once again the Raiders held the lead in the third set from end-to-end as senior Chris Markuson (Cupertino, Calif.), classmate Matt Tutino (Manorville, N.Y.) and freshman Grant Andler (Chicago, Ill.) combined for 37 of the Raiders' 53 kills in the second match. Junior Mike Hovnanian (Methuen, Mass.) hit a service ace over the net to open the third set and outscored Lasell by a score of 11-4 over the first 15 points. The Lasers climbed back into the set as sophomore Patrick MacDonald recorded a kill and cut the deficit to five points (17-12). River closed the set on a 8-1 run, took the set 25-16 and a 2-1 lead in the match. 

In the fourth and final set, the Lasers took a 22-21 lead after Raffol spiked the ball over the net. Both the Raiders and the Lasers traded points as the score was tied four times, before freshman Garrett Bucklin (Jamestown, R.I.) held serve for the Raiders. Rivier closed the game on a kill by Kazias and an attack error from the Lasers that gave the Raiders a 30-28 set win a a 3-1 match victory.

JOHNSON AND WALES 3, LASELL 1 (20-25, 25-23, 25-19, 25-20)

The Lasers claimed set one by a score of 25-20 after scoring the sets' final three tallies on attacking errors by the hosts. The first set went back and forth as both teams traded points. The score was tied seven times with the final one at 13-13. Lasell outscored JWU 12-7 that gave them a 1-0 lead. The second set was just as close as over the final five points, the score was knotted at 21-21, 22-22 and 23-23. Sophomore Brendon Baker (Providence, R.I.) registered two kills in a row on assists via Bessette for the Wildcats as the hosts took the tying set 25-23.  

With the score tied at 6-6 in the third set, Johnson and Wales went on an 11-2 run that broke the set open, 17-8. The Lasers closed the gap to as few as five points (24-19) with an 11-7 spurt of their own, but it wasn't enough as the Wildcats held on to take a 2-1 lead in the final match of the afternoon. Johnson and Wales hit .417 in the fourth set to earn a split in the conference tri-match. 

Lasell held an early 6-4 lead, but JWU peeled off nine of the next 12 points to retake the lead at 13-9. The scored went back and forth until the Lasers took a timeout after a kill via Baker made the score 23-17. The Wildcats registered their final two points to win the match 3-1 by a set score of 25-20 on a kill by junior Ryan Kennedy (West Barnstable, Mass.) and a service error from Lasell.  

Lasell and Rivier return to GNAC play on Tuesday, March 24 at 7:00 p.m. as the Lasers host Mount Ida and the Raiders host Emerson, while Johnson and Wales welcomes Emmanuel to its campus on Thursday, March 26 at 7:00 p.m. for a conference clash.