Men's Volleyball: Shinaut and Merritt lead Lasell to season sweep of Emerson

Newton, Mass. – Freshman Jordan Shinaut and junior Tucker Merritt both had double digit kills to lead the Lasell University Lasers men's volleyball team to a, 3-0, win over Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) foe Emerson College, Tuesday night at the Lasell Athletic Center.

The Lasers jumped out to an early lead in the first set scoring 10 of the first 14 points getting four points from Merritt on two kills and two service aces. A few points from the Lions cut the Laser lead but a kill from Shinaut and a kill and service ace from freshman David Massa pushed the Lasell lead to seven. The Lions responded, getting a pair of three-point runs getting a kill from freshman Jack Miessner (Phoenix, Ariz.) and an ace from junior Jackson Gordon (Amherst, N.H.) to cut the Laser lead to two. Neither team pulled away the rest of the way as Lasell added one point to their advantage on the finishing kill by Shinaut to take set one 25-22.

Merritt got off to a good start in set two spurring Lasell to take the first four points by getting two kills. The Lasers pushed their lead to five early in the set getting a kill from junior Jesus Garcia. Kills by sophomore Luke Roehm (Westport, Conn.) and freshman Brayden Slavik (Chicago, Ill.) cut the Laser lead down to four. From there, Lasell took control going on a four-point run getting two more kills from Merritt. An ace from Shinaut helped keep another Laser four-point run going and a Massa kill finished off the set as the Lasers scored 11 of the final 14 points taking a commanding two set lead 25-13.

Kills from Slavik and sophomore Nieko Pittman (Santa Clarita, Calif.) helped start a four-point run following a point from Lasell as the Lions took an early three-point lead in the third set. A pair of two-point runs by the Lasers knotted the game up early before the Lions scored another four straight getting kills from Pittman and freshman Ramsis De Los Santos (Lawrence, Mass.). Freshman Dexter Thomas ended the Emerson run but a kill from Pittman and block by De Los Santos and Miessner pushed the Emerson lead to five. Two Thomas solo blocks and a kill from Garcia quickly trimmed the Lions' lead to two. Kills from Miessner and Pittman along with a solo block from Roehm and double block from Slavik and senior Rory Dobbins (Warwick, R.I.) gave Emerson a four-point cushion midway through the third set. Kills from Merritt and Shinaut trimmed the lead back down to one. A kill by Pittman added to the Emerson lead before Massa and Thomas evened the game up with a kill each. Pittman continued his strong showing in the third set as he started a four-point run getting two of the three points with kills and De Los Santos getting the other two with kills. With the Lions only needing five more points to take the set the Lasers battled back down four. A kill by Shinaut and a bad set by the Lions cut the lead down to two. The teams traded the next three points, with Emerson getting points on a Miessner kill and a Pittman kill and Lasell getting a point on an Emerson set error. With the Lions three-points from victory, Lasell took over getting a kill from junior Brenden Joyce and three kills from Merritt including the match winning kill as the Lasers scored the final six-points of the set to take set three 25-22.

Pittman led the game with 14 kills and added 10 digs while freshman Bryson Beck (Fresno, Calif.) led the game with 14 digs. Slavik had nine digs and added five kills.

Shinaut led the Lasers with 13 kills and Merritt followed up just behind with 11. Freshman Alex Weinhaus led the Lasers with nine digs. Thomas led the game with four solo blocks in the win.

The Lasers will be back in action on Sunday, March 27, when they play host to Dean College and Rivier University in a GNAC tri-match. It will also be senior day for the Lasers and they will be honored during the Dean College match. The matchup against Dean is set to begin at 11:00 a.m. and the matchup with Rivier is set to begin at 3:00 p.m.