MVB: Zaharewicz Has Historic Match as Lasers Split GNAC Tri-Match

Boston, MA – The Lasell Lasers split their GNAC tri-match at Emmanuel, falling to Emmanuel 22-25, 26-24, 22-25, 25-17, 10-15. They would win their second match against Colby-Sawyer in straight sets by a score of 25-18, 25-8, 25-14. Lasell is now 6-5 overall and 2-1 in conference play, while Emmanuel is 8-5 and 2-2, and Colby-Sawyer is 2-6 and 0-3.

Match One

In the first match of the day, the Lasers took on host Emmanuel in a GNAC matchup.

The Lasers got out to a blistering 7-1 lead in the first set, with five of those points coming on Saints attacking errors. But a 7-2 run from the Saints got them back into the set. The teams would trade points back and forth the rest of the set, and things were tied at 21 when the Lasers took a lead off of a Jasper Schultz kill. But that was the last point of the set for the Lasers, as Emmanuel would go on to win the last four points of the set to take it 25-22.

The second set saw the Saints get out to the early lead at 7-3. The two teams would exchange points for awhile until it was 17-13 Saints. The Lasers would then go on a 5-0 to take an 18-17 lead. After a pair of Emmanuel points, the Lasers responded with three straight points, two of which came by way of Theo Zaharewicz kills. Things were tied at 24 when Zaharewicz would get another kill to make it 25-24. The Lasers would win the next point, and take set two 26-24.

The Saints used a 5-0 run early in the third set to grab an 8-6 lead. They would hold on to that lead until it was 19-16 Saints. At that point, the Lasers went on a 5-0 run that featured an ace from Jesus Garcia, and a kill from Brenden Joyce. This gave the Lasers a 21-19 lead. But the Saints would go on a 4-0 run to retake the lead, and after another Joyce kill, the Saints won the last two points of the set to win it 25-22, and go up 2-1 in the match.

In a must win set, the Lasers dominated. Holding a 6-5 lead, the Lasers went on a 9-1 run. Theo Zaharewicz had four kills during that run, and put the Lasers in a great position to force a fifth set. Lasell would coast the rest of the way, and take the set 25-17. Zaharewicz took over in this set, as he had seven kills and a block.

In the decisive fifth set, the Lasers got out to a 7-2 lead. But the Saints would come back, and go on a 5-1 run to close the gap. They would then use a 6-0 run to grab the lead, and they would take the set 15-10, giving them the match 3-2.

The Lasers were led by Theo Zaharewicz, as he recorded 30 kills on 52 attempts. The 30 kills was just one off the school record of 31 kills set by now Lasell head coach, Jeff Vautrin. Zaharewicz previous career high was 15 kills. A majority of those kills came on assists from Jesus Garcia, who had 46 set assists on the match. Zaharewicz also led the team with nine digs. Three different Lasers had three blocks in Brenden Joyce, Tucker Merritt, and Dexter Thomas.

Match Two

Things remained close early on, but the Lasers would find their groove, using an 8-2 run to take a 18-11 lead. While the Chargers would put some points together, the Lasers responded each time, taking the first set 25-18

Where the first set remained close early, the second set was all Lasell. The Chargers scored the first point, but the Lasers then scored eight straight and 11 of 12. After the Chargers scored another point, the Lasers scored six straight to hold a 17-3 lead in the set. They would eventually take set two 25-8.

The Lasers once again got out to the early lead, leading 11-7. They then used a 7-1 run to take control, and coasted to a 25-14 third set win, taking the match 3-0

The Lasers were led by Carter Phillips' eight kills. Right behind him was Tucker Merritt and Davis Massa with seven each. Jasper Schultz led defensively with six digs, while Merritt had three blocks. Zak Burkett had 26 set assists.

Up next – The Lasers will look to get back on track when they host Dean College on Wednesday, February 22^nd at 7pm.