Men's Volleyball: Lasers spilt GNAC matches against Rivier and Emmanuel

Nashua, N.H. – The Lasell University men's volleyball team split a pair of battles with Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) members Rivier University and Emmanuel College, 3-1 and 3-0, Saturday at Muldoon Gymnasium.

Match 1 Rivier 3 Lasell 1

The first set was hotly contested through the first 21 points as the Raiders held a one-point lead following a kill from Lasell freshman Theo Zaharewicz. The Raiders then opened their lead up scoring six of the next eight points getting an ace from graduate student David Smith (Clinton, Ohio) and a kill from sophomore Ethan Soltis (Massillon, Ohio). The Raiders pushed their lead to seven with an ace by senior Pedro Campos (Downey, Calif.) and shortly after a kill from senior Sokunbuth Ly (Lowell, Mass.). The Lasers clawed a few points back getting a kill by junior Brenden Joyce and a kill from freshman Jordan Shinaut cutting the Raider lead to four. Two attack errors by the Lasers finished off the first set in favor of the Raiders as they took it 25-19.

The Lasers took an early lead in the second set after scoring four straight getting two kills from Zaharewicz and an ace by junior Tucker Merritt. The sides went back and forth 12 points as the Lasers continued to hold a three-point lead at 12-9. The Raiders got four straight of their own to take the lead getting an ace from Smith and a kill from Ly to take a one-point lead. The Raiders pushed their lead to two on an ace from junior Peter White (Dunstable, Mass.) before a four-point run by the Lasers gave them the lead back. The Raiders answered scoring three straight to take the lead back. The Lasers grabbed the lead back with a kill from Merritt and an ace by Joyce. Rivier answered with two straight getting a kill from Smith and an attack error to grab the lead back. Three attack errors by both sides evened the game up at 23. The Raiders scored the final three points to take a two-set lead, winning set two 26-23.

The Lasers took control of set three and never looked back scoring 11 of the first 18 points to hold a four-point lead early. A two-point run by Rivier cut the Lasell lead to two but the Lasers answered with three straight started off by a kill from freshman Alex Weinhaus. Two spirts of two by Lasell helped grow their lead to seven with only six points needed to take the set. Rivier fought back going on a four-point run getting a kill from Ly and an ace from White. The Raiders cut the Lasell lead down as low as two on a kill by Smith, but Lasell held tough as two kills by Shinaut down the stretch helped take the match 25-21.

The Raiders jumped out in set three scoring 15 of the first 21 points to hold a nine-point lead early. The Lasers trimmed the lead down to five with a four-point run kitting kills by Shinaut and Merritt along with a block from the pair. From there the Raiders shut down the Lasers only allowing them to score five more points the rest of the set as they took the set and match 25-15.

Smith led the Raiders with 15 kills, while sophomore Chris Lezon (Lincoln, R.I.) added nine, Ly added eight and Soltis added seven. Campos had 42 assists and senior Jack Hromada (Burnt Hills, N.Y.) had 13 digs.

Shinaut led the game with 18 kills for Lasell while junior Jan Baranowski had eight kills and Joyce had seven. Junior Jesus Garcia led the game with 43 assists and led the Lasers with nine digs.

Game 2 Lasell 3 Emmanuel 0

Set one firmly belonged to the Lasers as they started on a five-point run getting a kill by Merritt. After a kill by freshman Jyles Amirault (Andover, Mass.) the Lasers added another eith points getting a kill by Merritt along with a kill from Joyce and two kills from Zaharewicz to jump out to a 12-point lead. The Saints got the lead back down to single digits as they rattled off three straight points getting two points from junior Joshua McDonald (Smithtown, N.Y.). Lasell answered with three straight of their own starting on a kill by graduate student Dillon DeSouza. The Lasers took set one, 25-12, getting the final point on an ace by DeSouza.

The Saints jumped out to an early lead in set two scoring three of the first four getting two points from Amirault and one point on a kill from freshman Leonard Kim (Los Angeles, Calif.). Lasell grabbed the lead going on a four-point run getting two kills from Merritt and one kill from Zaharewicz. Kills from Merritt, Zaharewicz and freshman Lee Naea helped build a four-point lead for Lasell. The lead was quickly erased by the Saint as they scored four unanswered getting two kills from Amirault. The teams traded points from there going from tied at nine to tied at 17 following an attack error by Lasell. The Lasers turned it up from there scoring four straight with two kills from Baranowski and one kill from Joyce. Lasell then scored five of the last six to take set two 25-19.

Lasell pulled out ahead in set three taking the first four points of the set getting an ace from Garcia and a kill from Zaharewicz. The Lasers pulled out a five-point advantage on an attack error by the Saints. From that point the Saints took control of the set scoring eight straight to take the lead getting two kills from junior Daniel Keys (Fall River, Mass.) and a kill from freshman Thor Yingling (Truro, Mass.). The Saints continued to push ahead, pulling out a four-point advantage following an attack error from Lasell and only needing seven points to take the set. The Lasers battled back, slowly trimming the lead down and eventually tying the game up at 22 on a kill by Zaharewicz. An attack error by the Saints gave the Lasers the lead and they did not look back as a kill by Naea closed the set and match in favor of Lasell.

Amirault led the Saints with 10 kills, and he also had eight digs. Yingling and Keyes both added five kills apiece.

Zaharewicz led the Lasers with 10 kills and Merritt added six kills of his own. Weinhaus led the game with 13 digs and Joyce added eight digs as well. Naea led the game in solo blocks with three.

The Lasers will be back in action on Tuesday, March 22, when they play host to fellow GNAC volleyball member Emerson. The match is set to begin at 7:00 p.m.