Lasell Men’s Volleyball outlasts Emerson in GNAC match

NEWTON, Mass. – Junior Jordan Aprea (Newington, Conn.) posted a double-double with team-highs of 11 kills and 20 digs Thursday evening as Lasell College outlasted Emerson College, 3-2, in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) men's volleyball match at the Lasell Athletic Center.

Lasell won the first set, 26-24, but had to come from behind to win the match with victories in the fourth and fifth sets, 25-23 and 15-8. Emerson took the second and third sets, 25-22 and 25-19. The Lasers (7-17 overall) improve to 4-5 in conference matches while the Lions drop to 3-7 in the GNAC, 10-9 overall.

Aprea also had a team-high .417 attack percentage (11-1-24) for the Lasers. Freshman Aaron Waitekus (Norwood, Mass.) smashed nine kills with a .292 percentage (9-2-24), along with six blocks, and freshman Conor Leary-Watson (Bethany, Conn.) added eight winners. Junior setter Andy Henriquez (Lawrence, Mass.) finished with 43 assists, and freshman Cobi Moore (Hampstead, N.H.) finished in double figures in digs with 11.

Senior Nick Rusk (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) led the Lions with a match-high 26 kills, while junior Mark Piorkowski (Montclair, N.J.) contributed 16 winners and classmate Win Kittivatcharapong (Bangkok Thailand) chipped in with 10 kills. Freshman Marcus Cepeda (Sacramento, Calif.) made 56 set assists, and three players reached double digits in digs, sophomore Carl D'Aguiar (Tujunga, Calif.) with 24, Rusk with 16 and Cepeda with 10.

The first set went back and forth, with numerous tie scores and lead changes. Emerson fought off two set-points with kills by Piorkowski and Rusk, but Lasell pulled out the set following two Lion errors.

Lasell had a slight lead in the second set before Emerson went on a 7-1 run late in the set to pull ahead, 23-20. The Lasers fought off one set-point, but a service error gave the Lions the set to even the match at one set apiece. Emerson pulled away early in the third set, taking a lead of 11-4. Lasell pulled to within three points at 16-13 and 20-17, but could get no closer and the Lions went on to win, 25-19.

The hosts led most of the fourth set, but a determined Emerson squad battled back and rattled off five points in a row to tie the set at 22-all. After the teams traded points, an error by the Lions and a kill by Aprea handed the set to Lasell to even the match at two sets apiece.

The final set was close early on, with Lasell holding just an 8-6 lead, but the home team would not be denied, posting six straight points, including kills by Aprea and Waitekus, to take a 14-6 lead. Emerson tried to come back, but a kill by Aprea gave Lasell the match.

The Lasers will play a GNAC tri-match at Emmanuel College this Saturday, March 31, facing the host Lions at noon and Regis College at 2:00 p.m. Emerson will host a conference match Saturday as well, facing Rivier University at noon.

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