Men's Volleyball: Lasers sweep GNAC-rival Colby-Sawyer, 3-0

NEWTON, Mass. - Sophomore Ryan Fuller finished with match-highs of 10 digs and five service aces, to go along with seven kills, for the Lasell University men's volleyball team during a 3-0 triumph against Great Northeast Athletic Conference-rival Colby-Sawyer Thursday evening in the Athletic Center. 

The five service aces are a career-high for Fuller. Junior Brenden Joyce compiled a match-leading 11 kills, to go along with seven digs, for the Lasers (15-8, 9-2 GNAC). Junior Rande Monahan recorded a career-high eight digs and graduate student Dillon DeSouza led all players with five total blocks.

"Tonight's match was an important match for our conference record, as well as our mental strength as a team," said Lasell University Men's Volleyball Head Coach Jeff Vautrin. "As a coach, I preach to always focus on us during our matches. Today we focused on our jobs and it showed. Zak Burkett did a great job running the offense today and his energy was great. Ryan Fuller and Brenden Joyce did a great job when it came to eye work and tip recognition. Dexter Thomas also had a standout offensive day, which is particularly impressive because he played two different positions. Overall, we handled our business, did our jobs and built some great momentum leading up to an important weekend."

Lasell held a 40-18 advantage in kills and recorded 10 aces, while registering a .522 hitting percentage as a team. Joyce recorded a .611 hitting percentage, while freshman Dexter Thomas tallied a personal-best eight kills, to go along with a .636 hitting percentage. Freshman Zak Burkett posted a career-high and match-leading 30 assists.

AJ Gnieski tallied a team-high 13 assists for the Chargers (4-14, 1-9 GNAC). Orlando Plagata contributed with seven digs and five kills for Colby-Sawyer.

A service ace by Thomas gave the hosts a 10-2 advantage in the first set. Back-to-back kills by freshman Jordan Shinaut gave the Lasers a 25-10 victory.

Lasell took a 6-0 lead in the second set on a kill by Joyce. The Chargers trimmed the deficit to 17-12, and then the Lasers responded with five straight points. A kill by Fuller put the hosts in front, 22-12, and then a kill by freshman Carter Philips gave the unit a 25-14 triumph.

"We played a solid team game tonight," said Fuller. "Dexter and Zak came into starting roles that they do not usually see and still handled the offense and made smart swings. The rest of the defenders, Brenden and Rande, handled reception well. They made sure to give Zak some great passes, so he could easily run our offense. In addition to reception, Rande had a lot of pick-ups that kept plays alive and allowed us to give our hitters a chance to steal points. Our servers also did a great job of keeping serves hard and in the court."

An ace by DeSouza allowed Lasell to take an 18-10 cushion in the third set. The Lasers clinched the match with a 25-14 win, ending with kills by junior Riley Grenier and Fuller.

The Lasers will compete in a tri-match Sunday, as they will host GNAC-rivals Dean and Rivier at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m., respectively. Before the match against Dean, the program will honor DeSouza and Brandon Hapgood during senior-day festivities.

Director of Athletic Communications Trevor Wenners can be reached at twenners@lasell.edu.

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