Women’s Volleyball Defeated by Westfield, 3-1

Newton, Mass.- The Lasell women's volleyball team fought hard in a tight battle with Westfield State College tonight on their home court, but it was the Owls who were victorious, 3-1, in the non-conference match.  Lasell drops their overall record to 2-6, while the Owls improve to 7-5.

Lasell's Danielle Drapeau (Biddeford, ME) scored the first point of the match tonight, attacking on a quick set in the middle from Meghan Crozier (Ballston Spa, NY).  However, just one point later, the Owls made a side out and went on a quick seven point run to dig Lasell into an early deficit.

After falling behind by as much as nine points in the set, Drapeau picked up a significant solo block in the middle, followed by an assisted block with freshman Chelsea Rohrig (Milford, Conn.) to turn things around for the Lasers. Unfortunatley, it was not enough as the Owls took the first set 25-15.

Westfield was led by Stephanie Bartkus and Alex Shaw in their attack during the first set. Bartkus put down three kills, while Shaw added four. 

Drapeau once again opened up the second game with a kill to the deep opposite corner as the Lasers went on a 5-0 run to start the set in a positive direction.  It was not until the team's hit a 10-10 tie that they began trading point-for-point until the final conclusion at 28-26, Westfield's game.  Both teams had more than one opportunity to finish the game point but the extra points were needed before a conclusion could be reached.

Eileen Barrett (Ludlow, Mass.) was on fire for Lasell during the extended set.   The sophomore hitter made five kills in the set, while defensive libero Amanda Major (Southbury, Conn.) picked up 10 total digs. 

Kerin DeGirolamo distributed 12 assists to the Owls, also picking up four digs.  Shaw came up with four additional kills in the set.

During the third set, the teams waivered around even until Lasell got into a flow and went ahead, 18-12.  Eventually the Owls came back from behind to tie the game up at 23-all before Drapeau and Barrett put down a huge double block to get to game point. Drapeau secured set point in the next play as Lasell took the game, 25-23.

The final set was close through the 14^th point on both sides at which point Westfield took over and closed the set at 25-15.

Over the course of the match, Drapeau put down 16 total kills, a match-high for the contest.  Barrett also hit double-digits in the attack column as she put down 10 points for the Lasers.

Crozier finished with a double-double in assists and digs, with 29 helpers and 12 digs in the four sets.  Major had a notable twenty digs in the contest.

Westfield's libero produced a game-best 28 digs, doing a fantastic job of covering the court for the Owls. Bartkus had 19 digs to go along with her 10 kills for an impressive double-double performance, and Shaw and April Gordon combined for 22 kills in the Owls offensive attack.

Lasell will travel to Pine Manor College for a tri-match with Albertus Magnus on Saturday, September 19^th.  Both contests will mark GNAC competition.