Women's Volleyball Bested by Anna Maria, Emmanuel in GNAC Tri-Match

BOSTON, Mass.- The Lasell College women's volleyball team fell to Emmanuel College (13-25, 22-25, 25-23, 22-25) and Anna Maria College (20-25, 18-25, 25-15, 12-25) in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference tri-match at the Emmanuel College Gymnasium on Saturday afternoon.

Despite the deficit, freshman Olivia Addinton (Orange, Calif.) swung into her first collegiate double-double with 12 kills and 12 digs in the Anna Maria match. Sophomore Caitlyn Garcia (Moreno Valley, Calif.) led the Lasers' defense with 16 digs in the effort. 

AMCATS' Amari King tied Addington for a game-high 12 kills and added 14 points, while Brianna Laregina contributed with 11.5 points for Anna Maria with seven kills and four service aces.

The Lasers survived four ties in set one before the AMCATS went on a 4-0 run to pull away 22-18. Addington added a final kill the the Lasers, but Leregina served up a final two services aces to take the set 25-19.

Set two played out to be a much closer match, as both teams essentially traded points before Anna Maria's Emily Adriannsen smashed a kill to advance 14-9. The AMCATS never looked back, as Rebecca Foti used a set from Samantha Parker to close the set 25-18.

Lasell bounced back in set three, as Garcia took the service line and gave the Lasers a 5-0 run (9-6) to force an Anna Maria timeout. However, the Lasers never looked back on the score, and Addington capped the 25-15 set victory with a 5-0 run for Lasell. However the Lasers' set three performance wasn't enough as the AMCATS came back to take the fourth set 25-12 to seal a 3-1 match victory.

 After a two-hour layoff, the Saints came back fresh against Lasell in match two of the afternoon, leaping to a quick 8-2 edge. A combination of Emmanuel kills and Lasell errors allowed the lead to grow to 22-10 before the Lasers used one of their timeouts. Freshman Odina Ellis (Providence, R.I.) came out of the timeout with a kill for the visitors, but two errors and a kill by Kaitlyn Atkinson ended the set, 25-13 in favor of the Saints.

The hosts came out a bit sloppy in the second set, allowing Lasell to take a 9-5 edge. The Saints, however, would tie the set at 10-10, 14-14, and 15-15, before Tutalo added back-to-back kills and forced Lasell to use another timeout. Emmanuel would not look back from there, as Tutalo and Atkinson each came up with an additional kill and the set ended at 25-22.

The third set provided the best action of the day for the fans that had made their way to the Jean Yawkey Center on Columbus Day Weekend. Lasell opened up a 6-2 lead, and Emmanuel responded by chipping away until the teams eventually reached another 16-16 deadlock. Both sides traded points to get to 18 all, and then service ace from senior Taylor Hansen (Gorham, Maine) gave the Lasers a 19-18 lead that they would not relinquish. Lasell took the set 25-23, marking the first time this season that EC has lost a set in GNAC play.

The fourth set turned out to be a thrilling set as well, as teams traded large offensive runs throughout.  Emmanuel, backed once again by Tutalo, Ripley, and junior Libero Sarah Schemerhorn (Los Angeles, Calif.) took an 8-2 lead in the early going. Lasell fought back and took the lead at 10-9 after two service aces by Addington - who dominated the court with 12 kills and 15 digs. 

The Tutalo-Ripley combination was too much for the Lasers too handle, as the two provided eight kills in the fourth set alone and pushed the Saints to their fourth GNAC victory in as many chances. Overall in the two matches, Tutalo tallied 21 kills, two aces, and six total blocks, while hitting .588 against Anna Maria. Ripley chipped in with 14 kills and hit .714 vs. Anna Maria and .600 against Lasell. 

Schemerhorn was remarkable defensively for the Saints, picking up 37 digs on the afternoon, including two that sent her flying into the bench and stands. Senior captain Shannon Dudley (Morro Bay, Calif.) continued to show her importance on the court, dishing out 73 assists in the two matches. 

Next up for the Saints is a home contest against the Wheaton College Lyons on Thursday, Oct. 15 at 7:00 p.m. Anna Maria heads to Johnson & Wales for a 7:00 p.m. match on Wednesday, Oct. 14 and the Lasers host Saint Joseph's (Me.) on Monday, Oct. 12 at 2:00 p.m. for a Columbus Day matinee.

Recap Courtesy of Emmanuel College Sports Information