Women's Volleyball Splits with Coast Guard and Suffolk University

NEWTON, Mass. (10/17/15) – The Lasell College volleyball team split a pair of matches in a Saturday afternoon tri-match in the Athletic Center. Lasell fell to Coast Guard Academy 3-0 before sweeping the Rams of Suffolk University 3-0 in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) matchup. With the split, the Lasers move to 8-18 this season and 3-4 in conference play.

In game one, freshman Olivia Addington (Orange, Calif.) paced the Lasers' offense with five kills and six digs, while senior Sharisse Scott-Rawlins (Brockton, Mass.) and freshman Stephanie Petraitis (Woodbury, Conn.) contributed with three kills apiece.

CGA's Susan West dominated the court, swinging into a double-double with 12 kills and 17 digs as Ashley Dumont followed with ten kills on the floor for a total of 10 points.

Coast Guard used an outstanding .481 hitting percentage to take the Lasers in set one, 25-5. Set two played out to be a closer match, as the Lasers rallied to a 9-3 advantage after an attack error from the visitors. A bad set from the Bears would keep Lasell on top 19-14, but Coast Guard's Emily Gilland held service for six straight points, forcing a Lasell time out. Down 21-19, the Bears would not give in to pressure as Gilland stood tall on the following serves where the Bears never looked back to secure the 25-22 set victory.

Coast Guard carried its momentum over to the neutral game of the day and took the Rams of Suffolk College in straight sets by scores of 25-9, 25-15, and 25-14.

Dumont paced the offense for the Bears with 15 kills for 15 points, while Stephanie Bullard contributed with five kills, one digs, and a block assist.

For the Rams, Jane Buckley added four kills and two digs for 4.5 points, while Emma Feeney and Madison Martin swung into two kills apiece in the effort.

After the break in between games, the Lasers bounced back to take the Rams in straight sets 25-15, 25-12, and 25-10.

Freshman Odina Ellis (Providence, R.I.) smashed seven kills and hit the floor for two digs, while senior Heather Longley (North Granby, Conn.) followed with six kills, four service aces, and two digs. Sophomore Caitlyn Garcia (Moreno Valley, Calif.) led the Lasers' defense in the victory with 19 digs.

For the Rams, Chidera Nwankwo added five kills for 5.5 of the visitors' points, while Bridget Allison was just behind her with four kills and four digs.

Both teams traded opening points in the first set before sophomore Tayloe Tiezzi (Meriden, Conn.) took the service line for nine consecutive points to give the Lasers' the 23-14 advantage. The Lasers grabbed the 25-15 victory in set one before they went point-for-point in the opening plays of set two.

After four ties in set two, Longley took the service line where sophomore Michele Canestro (Castleton, N.Y.) smashed back-to-back kills for give the home team a 6-4 bump. Lasell wouldn't look back throughout the remainder of the set, as a kill from Petraitis put the Lasers up by ten at 16-6. Sophomore Magdalen Trainor (Worcester, Mass.) recorded a last-play kill to give the Lasers a 25-12 set victory heading into the final set of the afternoon.

Tiezzi took the Lasers on a 6-0 run early on in the final set where the Lasers kept a steady advantage from that point on. Ellis swung into a pair of kills for the 20-8 advantage, where Longley then used back-to-back service aces to secure a 25-10 set victory and a 3-0 match win.

The Lasers return to non-conference road action on Thursday, October 22, as they head to Boston, Mass. to take on Emerson College at 7:00 p.m.