Men's Volleyball Dominates GNAC Weekly Awards

NEWTON, Mass. (2/13/17) -- The Lasell College men's volleyball team swept the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) weekly awards, as announced by the conference office on Monday.

Senior Tristan Davis (Rochester, N.Y.) was named Offensive Player of the Week for the second time this season, while sophomore Jordan Aprea (Newington, Conn.) was a repeat Defensive Player of the Week selection. Janci Soto (Lawrence, Mass.) rounded out the honorees as a first-time Rookie of the Week.

Davis helped lead the Lasers' attack with 58 kills over the five matches, including a pair of double-digit efforts. He swung through a season-high 16 against invitational hosts Elmira College, while also posting six digs and two service aces. Against Sage, Davis posted 15 kills on 20 attempts.

Aprea and Soto paced the Lasers on the defensive end, helping the team to a five-game winning streak. Aprea he hit the floor for 53 digs, reaching double digits for the seventh time this season against JWU, Nazareth and Penn State-Altoona. He opened the Elmira tournament with a season-high 16 digs, posting 14 in the previous conference opener against Johnson and Wales.

Soto led the Lasers with 19 blocks over the five matches, including eight in the five-set win against Altoona. The Lasers' lone rookie from Massachusetts posted 11 of his 27 kills in the four-set victory over JWU, a season-best.

The Lasers completed another 4-0 tournament sweep to move to 14-1 on the season, dominating the Elmira College Invitational with wins over the host Soaring Eagles, Penn State-Altoona, Nazareth and Sage. Three of the victories came in straight sets, while the Lasers kicked off GNAC play with a 3-1 win over JWU.

Lasell returns to home conference action on Thursday, February 16, as they host Emerson College at 8:00 p.m.