MVB: Lasers Fall to Ranked Opponents at St. John Fisher Tournament

Pittsford, MA - The Lasell Men's Volleyball team travelled to New York on Friday to compete in four matches, three of which came against ranked opponents. The Lasers went 1-3, and are now 2-3 on the season.

Match One vs SUNY Poly

The Lasers began the weekend with a straight sets win over SUNY Poly, defeating them 25-14, 25-17, 25-23. It was a career match for Jasper Schultz, as he had a career high 15 kills, while adding five digs, and three total blocks. Also in double-digit kills was Brenden Joyce with 11, on 16 attempts. Jesus Garcia led the team in set assists as well as digs with 33 and nine.

Match Two vs #13 Nazareth

Following their win over SUNY Poly, the Lasers took on the 13th ranked Nazareth squad, falling 3-1 by a score of 19-25, 27-25, 17-25, 25-27. Once again in double-digits for kills was Brenden Joyce, with 12. Ahead of him was Theo Zaharewicz, who had 15. Jan Baranowski also added seven. In the middle for a majority of those was Jesus Garcia, as he had 34 set assists. Nathan Carter led the team with eight digs, one more than Jasper Schultz' seven.

Match Three vs #5 Juniata

The Lasers returned to play on Saturday with a daunting schedule, led off by #5 Juniata. After splitting the first two sets, the Lasers grabbed the lead in the third. But the Eagles would control the fourth, sending the matchup between two ranked teams to a decisive fifth set. Lasell would grab an early 3-1 lead off of a pair of kills and a block. But the Eagles countered to take a 6-5 lead. With things tied at eight, the Eagles went on a 3-0 run, forcing the Lasers to take a timeout. After the two teams split the next two points, the Lasers went on a 3-0 run, including two kills from Brenden Joyce. After another split two points, things were tied at 13 apiece. But a service error from the Lasers, followed by an ace from the Eagle, would give Juniata the win. They won the match 21-25, 25-22, 24-26, 25-18, 15-13.

Five different Lasers had at least four kills, led by Brenden Joyce's 18. Behind him was Jan Baranowski (9), Theo Zaharewicz (8), Dexter Thomas (4), and Jordan Shinaut (4). Of the Lasers 47 kills, 42 of them came off of a Jesus Garcia set. Defensively, Ryan Fuller had 12 digs, while Carter Phillips led the team with three blocks.

Match Four vs #11 St. John Fisher

Lasell wrapped up their weekend in New York with a fourth match, this time taking on 11th ranked St. John Fisher. It was another close match, but the Lasers ended up dropping it in five sets, falling 11-25, 26-24, 27-25, 28-26, 10-15. After the Cardinals used a 13-0 run early in the first set to grab control, the Lasers remained composed, and grabbed the second set, punctuated by 4-0 run to end it. After splitting the next two sets, including a 28-26 fourth set win that ended with two consecutive Jan Baranowski kills, the match went to a fifth and final set. The Cardinals got out to a 3-0 lead, but the Lasers responded with three points of their own. But a 5-1 run by the Cardinals gave them control, and they would take the fifth set 15-10, giving them the match.

It was a three-headed monster on offense for the Lasers, led by Brenden Joyce's 17 kills. Right behind him was Theo Zaharewicz with 15 and Jan Baranowski with 14. Jasper Schultz and Carter Phillips each pitched in as well with seven and six respectively. As has been the case for the past few seasons, the offense ran through Jesus Garcia, as he collected 51 set assists. This was just the second time he broke the 50 assists mark in a match, and only trailed his total of 58 from his freshman year.

Defensively, Ryan Fuller had 13 digs, while Zaharewicz completed a double-double with 10. Joyce added nine, while Schultz added eight. At the net, four different Lasers recorded at least four total blocks, led by Phillips' six. Right behind him was Baranowski (5), Schultz (4), and Joyce (4).

Up Next - The Lasers will take some time off, not playing again until Wednesday, January 31st, as they will host MIT at 7pm.