Men's Volleyball: Lasers open GNAC play with a 3-0 win over Emerson

BOSTON – The Lasell University men's volleyball posted a 3-0 win in its Great Northeast Athletic Conference opener Tuesday evening against Emerson at the Bobbi Brown and Steven Plofker Gym.

The Lasers (5-5, 1-0 GNAC) have won three consecutive matches and five of their last six, while the Lions currently sit at 1-7 overall and 0-3 in the GNAC.

The Lasers scored six of the first eight points in the opening set, as the quick start was led by two kills from freshman Dexter Thomas and a kill by junior Tucker Merritt. Emerson clawed back getting Lasell's lead down to 8-7 with a kill by sophomore Neiko Pittman and a block by three Lions players. Lasell answered back quickly scoring four straight will kills by junior Brenden Joyce and fellow classmate Jan Baranowski. The Lasers got the lead as high as seven at 20-13 following three straight kills by Baranowski. The Lions fought back with a 5-0 surge, getting the lead down to two with kills by senior Rory Dobbins, freshman Jack Meissner and Pittman. Lasell grabbed the first set, 25-23, on an attack error by the Lions.

The second set was all Lasers from the beginning, scoring 14 of the first 19 points and jumping out to a nine-point lead. During the early run, the team received kills from Baranowski, Merritt, freshman David Massa and sophomore Ryan Fuller. The Lasers held the Lions off and finished the second set on a kill by senior Brandon Hapgood, winning, 25-17.

The third set started out tight with both teams knotted up after the first 20 points. The Lasers took the next four points on a service error and three attack errors, one of which was the result of a Joyce solo block. The teams traded points before Lasell grabbed three straight points to put the lead up to seven at 20-13. Three straight points by Emerson cut Lasell's lead to four, before a Baranowski kill gave the Lasers a 22-17 advantage. The Lions responded again, scoring three more and cutting the Lasell lead to two. The Lasers ended the game on a three-point run, starting off with a kill by Fuller and ending on a block by Baranowski to secure the 25-20 third-set victory.

The Lasers had an even attack, as Baranowski led the way with nine kills, followed by Massa with six. Junior Jesus Garcia had 21 assists and Fuller had four of the seven service aces for the Lasers.

The Lasers will play GNAC-rival Regis Thursday at 7 p.m. in the Athletic Center.

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