Men's Volleyball Slips Away from Rivier 3-1 in GNAC Semifinal

NEWTON, Mass. (4/7/16) – The Lasell College men's volleyball saw its season come to a close in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) semifinal match with Rivier University, 3-1, Thursday evening in the Athletic Center. The Lasers end the year at 16-13 overall, while the Raiders improve to 22-10 this year and will head to #1 seeded Wentworth on Saturday.

Despite the loss, three Lasers reached double figures in kills, led by junior Tristan Davis (Rochester, N.Y.) hit .407 with 14 kills, one service ace and two blocks for 16 points. Junior Patrick MacDonald (Floral Park, N.Y.) contributed 14 points off 13 kills and two blocks, while senior Ryan Jackson (Canton, Ohio) swung into 11 kills. Senior setter Andrew Glenn (Westport, Conn.) dished out a game-high 48 assists in the effort, and will leave Lasell as the all-time assists leader with 4,093.

Sophomore Grant Adler (Chicago, Ill.) dominated the court with 17 kills, two blocks, and a service ace to contribute 19.5 points for the Raiders. Freshman Khaynen Yocca (Pittsburgh, Pa.) added 10 kills and two blocks for 12 points, while junior setter Tyler Blank (Rochester, N.Y.) assisted 46 of the Raiders' 49 kills.

With senior Mike Hovnanian (Methuen, Mass.) on the serve, the Raiders jumped to an early 9-3 lead in the first set to force the Lasers to take their first timeout. MacDonald then strung together three kills along with a point apiece from freshmen Nate Gallo (North Providence, R.I.) and Andy Henriquez (Lawrence, Mass.) to close the gap 14-11. Lasell struggled to find its rhythm in the following plays, committing a handful of errors before they used their second timeout, trailing 18-12. Glenn set Jackson up for a blast to back court to close the margin to four, 19-15, but the Raiders continued to execute on offense and closed set one 25-18.

Lasell turned it on the second set as both teams battled point for point in the opening minutes. After a kill by Adler tied things up 15-15, the Lasers ignited a 7-3 run where Davis used all 6'6" to spike a perfectly placed kill in the center of the court. River then took another timeout, their second of the set, but the Lasers were relentless and wouldn't fault after the break. Glenn set Davis up for another textbook kill, as junior Will Gold (Ridgefield, Conn.) followed with a power serve that was misread on defense from the Raiders. Honovanian then held service for an attempted late rally for the visitors, as three Lasell service errors brought the score to 24-22. However, Henriequez and Davis cut Honovanian's rally short, and denied senior Mike Hadder's (Yucaipa, Calif.) attack to close set two, 25-22.

The Lasers hung with the Raiders for a majority of the third set, until error trouble again gave the opposition a five-point breakthrough at 21-17. The Lasers called for a timeout, but couldn't disrupt Rivier's flow, as Andler and sophomore Matt Heckler (Simi Valley, Calif.) closed out the match 25-18 for a 2-1 match lead heading into the fourth set.

After hitting .360 in the third set, the Raiders carried its momentum into the final segment of the evening. The Lasers put together a quick 5-1 stretch led by Davis to lead 15-10, but the Raiders stayed a live with a handful of Lasell errors to and a kill from Andler for the 15-15 deadlock. The set tied on the following Lasell serve, as senior Dalton Whitman (Meriden, Conn.) spiked a point from Glenn 16-16, where the Raiders took the game for their own and never trailed.

Lasell College would like to thank Jackson, Glenn, and Whitman for their outstanding contributions to the men's volleyball program for the past four years. We wish them well in their future endeavors, and their presence on the court will truly be missed.