Women's Volleyball Opens 2013 Season with 2-2 Trip to Cazenovia

CAZENOVIA, NY (8/31/13) - The Lasell College women's volleyball team kicked off their 2013 season by traveling to upstate central New York for the Cazenovia College Blue and Gold Classic. The Lasers opened with a pair of victories on Friday night, defeating Gwynedd-Mercy and Cazenovia, both by scores of 3-0. Lasell then lost a nail-biter on Saturday morning to Rochester Institute of Technology, 3-2 before falling 3-0 to Houghton College.

Match 1 - vs. Gwynedd-Mercy College

Lasell ran out to a straight set victory, defeating the Griffins 25-10, 25-15, and 25-11.Abigail Rollins led Lasell with seven kills, and Kathy Cameron was a key in the middle with five kills and eight solo blocks. Alyssa Nahigian finished with 14 assists and seven digs, while Jordan Seid totaled a team-high eight digs. 

Match 2 - vs. Cazenovia College

The Lasers picked up another three set victory in the second set, defeating Cazenovia 25-10, 25-12 and closing out the Wildcats in a closely contested third set 26-24. Heather Longley paced the Lasers attack with nine kills and a pair of solo blocks, and Kathy Cameron notched five kills and 4 total blocks. Jordan Seid provided some solid passing with 18 digs, and setter Alyssa Nahigian handed out 19 assists in the victory. Cazenovia is coached by Lasell College alum Bryan Bobo, the all-time leader in assists in the men's volleyball program.

Match 3 - vs. Rochester Institute of Technology

Lasell jumped out to an early lead on Saturday morning in their match against the Tigers from RIT, taking a 2-0 lead by outscoring RIT 25-14 and 25-18 in the opening two sets. RIT then came back, narrowly avoiding the sweep, winning the third set 25-23 before evening the match at 2-2 with a 25-16 win in the fourth set. RIT didn't allow Lasell to bounce back, taking the fifth set 15-10 to claim the victory and hand Lasell their first loss of the season.

Abigail Rollins posted a team-high 14 kills in the match while adding nine digs. Sharisse Scott-Rawlins finished with 10 kills for Lasell, chipping in seven digs. Kathy Cameron recorded eight kills and seven total blocks for the Lasers, while Alyssa Nahigian dished out a team-best 25 assists. Jordan Seid again keyed the Lasers defensive efforts with 22 digs.

Match 4 - vs. Houghton College

Lasell fell in straight sets to the Highlanders of Houghton College in their final match of the day, evening their overall record at 2-2. Lasell lost 25-14, 25-20 and 25-22 as they were unable to convert as well as they had throughout the tournament despite some strong defensive play. Three Lasers posted double digit marks in digs, as Abigail Rollins had 13, Marisa Visocchi 12 and Jordan Seid 10. Rollins tallied a team-high six kills, followed by Cameron with five and Scott-Rawlins with four. 

Kathy Cameron was named to the All-Tournament team following her performance in the four matches. She finished with 23 kills and 22 total blocks over the four matches. Lasell will return to action on Tuesday September 3rd when they host Wentworth Institute at 7:00 p.m. in their home opener.