Women's Volleyball Drops Two at Colby-Sawyer

NEW LONDON, N.H. (9/1/15/) – The Lasell College women's volleyball team dropped a pair of games to Colby-Sawyer College and Babson College at the Coffin Field House in New London, N.H. The Lasers start their 2015 campaign at 0-2, while Babson and Colby-Sawyer get the 1-0 start to the year.

Game One: Lasell 1 Colby-Sawyer 3

Senior Heather Longley (North Granby, Conn.) paced the Lasers with nine kills and three solo blocks. Sophomore Odina Ellis (Providence, R.I.) chipped in with six kills and six digs, while freshman Olivia Addington (Orange, Calif.) recorded five kills.

Seniors Kelsey McCulley (Southampton, N.Y.) and Kelsey Sullivan (Laconia, N.H.) both reached double digits in kills for the Chargers, recording 14 and 11, respectively. McCulley added 10 digs to the match, joined by freshman Gabrielle Ratte (Kula, Hawaii) who contributed 10 digs and seven kills.

Colby-Sawyer used a .250 hitting percentage in set one to defeat the Lasers 25-19. Lasell bounced back in set two, securing the set 27-26. Sophomore Taylor Tiezzi (Meriden, Conn.) set the tone for the Lasers, serving up an ace for the opening point. An immediate kill from Sullivan would tie the set 1-1, however, the Lasers capitalized on back-to-back errors from the defense and held on to the lead until the second tie of the set, 22-22.  Down 26-24, Addington kept the Lasers in the game with a single kill, granting the Lasers a 27-26 victory following a Charger ball handling error.

With six ties in set three, the Chargers ran away with a 25-20 victory, using 12 kills compared to Lasell's three. In the deciding final set, which had four ties of its own, Colby-Sawyer established the early lead, and held on for the remainder of the match.

Game Two: Lasell 0 Babson: 3

Longley steered the Lasers in game two with six kills and one dig, while sophomore Michele Canastro (Castleton, N.Y.) added three kills.

Junior Lourraine Mackiewicz (Edison, N.J.) was the match leader with eight kills and two digs, while senior Elizabeth Sullivan (Quincy, Mass.) paced the Beavers defensively with a game-high 18 digs.

The Beavers rolled over Lasell in set one, 25-17, applying high pressure early on. With senior Angela Price (Medway, Mass.) on the serve, Babson put away eight straight points for the largest lead of the set (18-7). The Lasers attempted to chip away at the lead – controlled by Longley and Tiezzi – but failed to catch up to Babson's advantage.

Using a game-high .345 hitting percentage in set two, the Beavers grabbed the second set victory, 25-21. Senior Julia Goldstein (Lynnfield, Mass.) served on the line early on to give Babson eight consecutive points, capped by a service ace (20-13). The Lasers were able to bounce back and reach 21 points – courtesy of an Ellis kill – but came up short for the 25-21 final score. Up 2-0 in the match, Babson used 13 kills to put away the game with a final 25-19 third set victory.

The Lasers will hit the road again this weekend for the Roger Williams Tournament. On Friday, September 4, Lasell will play Wheaton and Clarkson in the opening matches of the tournament, followed by a pair of games vs. Emerson College and Roger Williams on the following day, Saturday, September 5.