Lasers Triumph Over Rams before getting Weathered by Nor'Easters

Newton, MA—The Lasell College women's volleyball team hosted their second tri-match of the season, entertaining Framingham State College and the University of New England in the Lasell College Athletic Center throughout the day on Saturday.  Lasell (7-9) defeated Framingham (12-10) in the first match, 3-0, before falling, 3-2, to New England.   The Nor'easters left with two wins on the day after defeating the Rams in the second match of the day, 3-1.  

In the opening match, the Lasers rallied behind a double-double performance from freshman outside hitter Taylor Riley (Greencastle, PA) who notched an identical 10 kills with 10 digs.  Lasell middle Danielle Drapeau (Biddeford, ME) and freshman outside Sara Biondo (Coventry, RI) both also reached double-figures in the kill column with 11 and 10 respectively.  Freshman libero Sarah Eisenberg (Westfield, MA) pursued a match-high 14 digs in the contest while Senior Megan Gobeille (Lincoln, RI) added 10 defensive pick-ups and four service aces.  Junior setter Meghan Crozier (Ballston Spa, NY) set up a strong offensive attack for Lasell connecting with her hitters for 32 assists.

On the visitor's side, senior outside Ashley Trudeau (Rockland, MA) was the leader on the attack for Framingham with nine, while senior middle Nicole Donofrio (Whitman, MA) and freshman outside Andressa Fernandes (Framingham, MA) matched for six apiece.  Trudeau also had a team-best 12 digs in the match while libero Jessi Goode (Marston Mills, MA) chipped in with 10. First year setter Maribeth Martin (Marston Mills, MA) dished out 25 helpers to her front line.

The first frame opened with Lasell falling behind 7-3 before returning to tie the score at 7-all on a huge solo block by Eileen Barrett (Ludlow, MA).  Lasell pulled ahead on the next point scoring off a Riley attack which nicked the Rams short corner.  The teams went point-for-point through a 10-all tie at which point Lasell took over control of the scoreboard on a service ace by Eisenberg.  The Rams used their first time out, which seemed to give them a new momentum as Trudeau launched a cross-court shot on the following play to give Framingham a side-out.  Jackie Friel (Centerville, MA) produced the fifth tie of the game, at 12-all, when she followed her hitter into a shoot and denied the attempt across the net.

At this point, the Lasers went on a 4-1 run to take a 21-17 lead but the Rams were not about to retreat without a fight.  The visitors inched their way back on kills by Donofrio & two by Trudeau to come within one point, at 22-21. The visitors then evened the score once again after a service ace by Goode. A Laser hitting miscue allowed Framingham to take the lead and face their first set-point.  A service error by Framingham kept the set going and a kill by Riley which ricocheted off Framingham's block gave Lasell their first set-point chance.  On the Lasers' second opportunity, a sloppy rally of overpasses was put to rest by Riley when she dropped a hit from the back row into the middle of the Rams court, ending the set 26-24.

For Lasell, Riley led all attackers with five kills in the set, hitting .400 with just one error on ten attempts. Crozier had 12 assist distributing a balanced attack to Drapeau, Barrett, and Biondo with three kills each.  Eisenberg and Biondo each had four digs.

The Rams went ahead 8-4 after a 4-1 stretch to begin the second game before the Lasers embarked on a comeback to tie the score at nine-all when Crozier set up Riley on the outside.  At the hand of Gobielle, who served for seven straight points, the Lasers finished the run go ahead, 14-10.  The Rams finally were returned the ball on a setting error by Lasell, however, they did not take another lead in the game.  The closest the Rams came was within one point, 19-20, after capitalizing on Laser miscues but Lasell came back to score on a Biondo deep cross court rocket (22-20) to keep distance. Lasell came upon set-point on a block error by Donofrio on the outside and Biondo closed the set with another left side attack, 25-20.

Riley, Barrett, and Drapeau were unstoppable at the net with four kills each. Barrett and Drapeau went without an error in the frame. Eisenberg picked up nearly everything for Lasell, taking control of the back court with eight digs.

Trudeau led Framingham with three kills on 10 attempts with no errors and Goode picked up five digs.  Martin had eight assists, one ace, and four digs.

In the final frame, Eisenburg served the first three points in favor of the Lasers who procured a 5-1 advantage in the early going. The Rams fought back with consecutive service aces by Donofrio which brought the score to 8-5.  Points tacked on to each score on errors to bring the score to 10-9 when Lasell called a timeout. Upon returning to action, Martin set up Kasischke for a deep line shot in the middle to even score at 10-all. Framingham took first lead of the set on a kill by Trudeau after a six point stretch, also at the service hand of Trudeau.

The teams went point-for-point up until a score of 17-all when Barrett put down a kill with her off hand.  Lasell proceeded to go ahead 21-18 when Crozier saved the ball off the net and Drapeau sliced it away from the defense for the kill.  Drapeau put down a monster individual block on a Ram back-row attack to reach match-point and a Framingham error sealed the match, 25-18.

The University of New England then picked up the win over Framingham State in the second match of the day, 3-1.  Framingham came out strong in the first set, earning a 25-20 victory before New England turned the momentum into their favor, taking the next three games convincingly by scores of 25-14, 25-16, and 25-23.

The final match of the day pitted Lasell against UNE which proved to be the match of the day. The teams battled it out through five sets with the Nor'easters ultimately coming out on top, 3-2.  Lasell secured the first two sets 25-23 and 25-20 before the visitors came back to force extra points taking the final three sets 28-26, 26-24, and 15-10.

Paige Curran (Chelmsford, MA) put away 18 kills in the contest, leading the victors, while Kristen Edwards (Laconia, NH) put forth a strong showing in a double-double performance with 12 kills and 11 digs.   Libero Kirsta Adie (Tyngsboro, MA) had a team-best 22 digs in the contest and setter Maria Kuehl (Middleton, NH) dished out 51 assists.

In the defeat, Lasell was led by Drapeau, who put down 16 kills, and Riley, who added in 13.  Crozier also came away with a near triple-double, digging up 11 balls and pushing for 40 assists, while also chipping in with nine kills.  Eisenberg ended the match with 23 digs in a valiant effort as Lasell's libero. 

It was evident from the start that the game would be a battle as the teams traded points, tying the first set up nine times before Lasell claimed the frame. In the early going, Lasell fell behind 6-3 before Drapeau served up a six point run to take a lead. 

After UNE took a lead at 20-17, Lasell commanded a four point run, by capitalizing on Nor'easter errors and capped with a Chelsea Zeig (West Nyack, NY) kill.  The teams tied the game at 23-all when UNE's Nicole Kalinowski (Tucson, AZ) hit a back-side attack that ripped off the back line. A UNE service error pulled Lasell to set-point and a Nor'easter hitting error preserved the game, 25-23, in favor of the hosts.

In a similar start in the second set, Lasell came from a 4-1 deficit to tie the score at five-all on a Barrett solo block in the middle.  Lasell fell in arrears again until Eisenberg served a five-point run which gave Lasell a 15-13 edge. Crozier exploited Drapeau's dominating attack at the net with a trio of kills during that stretch.  The Lasers maintained a slight advantage through the remainder of the match before Riley closed the set on a right side hit.

The win in the third set came off extra points as each team was presented with mulitple set-point opportunities, which the Nor'easters eventually put to rest on an Edwards line shot and a Laser miscue, 28-26.  The fourth frame was similar is appearance as Lasell came from behind to tie the score at 24-all with a Drapeau service ace before Lindsey Cashell (Merrimack, NH) dumped a roll shot into the middle of the court to take a 26-24 win.

In the deciding game, Crozier came out to serve three opening points but a twin block by Curran and Kuehl swung the energy into UNE's favor.  The Nor'easters advanced on a five point stretch before Lasell came back to tie the score at 8-all.  The Lasers would score just two more points as the Nor'easters held on to finish the match 15-10 on a final Edwards kill.

The Lasers are back in action on Thursday, October 5^th when they travel to Rivier College to face the Great Northeast Athletic Conference powerhouse.  The match will begin at 7:00 p.m.