Men's Volleyball Digs Deep to Take Rivier in Straight Sets 3-0

NEWTON, Mass. (3/3/16) – In a repeat meeting between the 2015 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) finalists, the Lasell men's volleyball team took out the visiting Raiders of Rivier University 3-0 on Thursday evening in the Athletic Center Gym. Lasell remains perfect in the GNAC at 7-0 and improves to 11-9 overall, while Rivier dips to 1-2 in conference play and 11-8 this season.

In a triumphant balanced effort for the hosts, three Lasers reached double figures in kills with junior Patrick MacDonald (Floral Park, N.Y.) leading the charge with 15 kills, six digs, and two service aces. Junior Tristan Davis (Rochester, N.Y.) followed on a .571 hitting percentage with 10 kills on 14 attempts, while senior Ryan Jackson (Canton, Ohio) hit into 14  kills with six digs. Junior William Gold (Ridgefield, Conn.) hit the floor for a team-best seven digs, with six additional kills and a service ace.

Junior Ian Wolski (Westfield, Mass.) paved the way for the Raiders with 13 kills and five digs for 13.5 points, while sophomore Grant Andler (Chicago, Ill.) contributed with 10 kills for 11.5 points. Sophomore Garrett Bucklin (Jamestown, R.I.) held down the defense for the visitors with a game-high eight digs.

Both teams were neck and neck for a majority of the first set, until a 7-4 run and a kill from Davis gave the Lasers a 20-17 advantage. Davis, who controlled the court with five kills in the set, later swung into a service ace to give the Lasers a match-point opportunity, however, a late spark from Rivier kept the Lasers at bay. A quick 3-0 stretch served up by Wolski spoiled match-point for Lasell for the time being, until Jackson smashed a kill to from the hands of senior Andrew Glenn (Westport, Conn.) for the 25-23 final.

MacDonald swung into four early kills to give Lasell a comfortable 15-11 lead in the second set, forcing a Raiders' timeout. Once again, the visitors wouldn't quit on the court, and strung together a 6-2 run to knot the game at 17-all. In another match-winning situation, Aprea sprawled out for a standout dig, where MacDonald served up a set only to be called on a questionable ball handling error to knot the game at 24-all. The set would even out four more times - with 17 total ties in the outing - as a MacDonald kill brought the score to 29-29. With Gold on the serve, the Raiders finally cracked with a pair of attack errors to award the hosts the prolonged 31-29 victory. 

The Lasers carried their momentum into the final set of the evening, rolling out with a commanding 20-11 lead, highlighted by the MacDonald/Gold duo. MacDonald held service for eight straight points, as Gold blasted three crucial kills over the net, again forcing a Rivier timeout. Unlike the previous two sets, the Lasers would not allow a comeback rally, as the back line yielded off an out-of-bounds attack from the visitors for the 25-15 victory.

The Lasers will host MIT in the Athletic Center on Tuesday, March 8 with first serve slated for 6:00 p.m., while the Raiders welcome Wentworth and Mount Ida in a GNAC tri-match on Saturday, March 5 starting at 11:00 a.m.