Men's Volleyball Sweeps Endicott, Battles Springfield in JWU Tip-Off Tourament

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (1/23/16) – The Lasell men's volleyball team finished 1-1 at the annual Johnson and Wales Tip-Off Tournament Saturday morning inside the Wildcat Center. The Lasers swept Endicott College 3-0 before dropping the nine-time national champion Springfield College 3-1. Due to the winter storm advisory for the weekend, Lasell's Friday matches were canceled with Carin University and Rutgers-Newark.

Game One: Lasell: 3 Endicott: 0 (25-21, 25-16, 25-22)

Senior Jeff Vautrin (Chicopee, Mass.) continued a strong campaign from last season with a match-high 17 kills and a trio of service aces for 20.5 of Lasell's points. Senior Ryan Jackson (Jackson, Ohio) followed with eight kills, while junior Tristan Davis (Rochester, N.Y.) and Patrick MacDonald (Floral Park, N.Y.) swung into seven kills apiece in the victory.

Vautrin was just short of double-figures in the Lasers' season debut with nine digs defensively, while senior Andrew Glenn (Westport, Conn.) dished out a game-best 34 assists.

Game Two: Lasell: 1 Springfield: 3 (21-25, 25-22, 19-25, 18-25)

Despite the outcome, the Lasers hung with The Pride for each of the four sets, including a 25-22 victory in the second phase. MacDonald was a key factor in the Lasers' performance as he registered 13 kills to go along with two block assists for 15.0 total points. Vautrin served up four service aces with nine kills for 13 points, while Glenn one-upped his Endicott performance with 35 assists.

Ranked at the top of this year's AVCA Preseason Poll, The Pride took the first set, but not by much, before the Lasers came out on top in set two. Set two experience three deadlocks before the Lasers were rewarded service following a service error from Springfield. Vautrin served up the 1-2-3- point play, highlighted by two final block assists from Davis to take down The Pride 25-22.

Relentless on the court, the Lasers battled Springfield in the final two sets of the match, however, The Pride used a .500 and .522 swinging percentage to dish out a combined 31 kills with just 6 errors to take out the Lasers 3-1.

Lasell will return to action next Wednesday, January 27 for a non-conference test at Newbury College with first serve slated for 7:00 p.m.