Men's Volleyball Opens GNAC Campaign with 3-0 Victory Over Emerson

NEWTON, Mass. (2/2/16) – The Lasell men's volleyball team swept the visiting Lions of Emerson College 3-0 in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) action Tuesday evening in the Athletic Center Gym. The win grants the Lasers a 1-0 record in league play and 3-4 overall, while the Lions drop to 2-3 overall and 0-1 in the GNAC.

Senior Jeff Vautrin (Chicopee, Mass.) led all players with a .440 hitting percentage for 13 kills and six service aces for a combined 19.5 points. Junior Patrick MacDonald (Floral Park, N.Y.) swung into nine kills and six service aces for 15 points, while senior Ryan Jackson (Canton, Ohio) contributed seven kills, nine digs, and a block assist.

For the Lions, freshman Mark Piorkowski (Montclair, N.J.) led the attack with nine kills, a single ace and a block assist for 10.5 points, while senior Jackson Wiley (Los Angeles, Calif.) followed with six kills and three digs.

After a back and forth opening set, Macdonald capped a 25-23 victory with a service ace and a blast from Jackson's assist. With momentum on their side, Vautrin took service in set two where the Lasers strung together a 4-0 run for the 5-2 early advantage. Senior Ben Hillman (South Pasadena, Calif.) subbed in for the Lions and served up consecutive service aces to pull within reach, 12-11, where senior setter Andrew Glenn (Westport, Conn.) held service for five straight points, highlighted by a pair of service aces. The ace game continued as Vautrin knocked down two before a Lions error granted the Lasers a 25-16 set victory heading into the final set of play.

Using a .562 hitting percentage, the Lasers came out strong in the third set, grabbing an early double-digit lead via four straight serves (two service aces) from junior William Gold (Ridgefield, Conn.) for the 12-5 bump. A kill followed by two aces from senior Brendan McGonigle (Los Angeles, Calif.) brought the Lions back to a single digit deficit 18-11, but the effort would come up short as the Lasers held on for the 25-14 set victory, concluded by a service ace from freshman Nathan Gallo (North Providence, R.I.)

In all three sets played, the Lasers yielded just seven errors, while the Lions allowed 12.  On the defensive side, Lasell hit the floor for 31 digs, with a team-high nine digs coming from Jackson, while the Lions registered 24.

The Lasers will head to Nashua, N.H. on Saturday, February 6 to square off with Daniel Webster and Endicott College with first serve set for 4:30 p.m., while the Lions travel to local foe Newbury College on Thursday, February 4 at 6:00 p.m.