Emerson Outlasts Women's Volleyball 3-1

BOSTON, Mass - The Lasell College women's volleyball team fell to the Lions of Emerson College 3-1 in a non-conference matchup Thursday evening at the Brown Plofker Gym. The Lasers drop to 8-19 with the setback, while Emerson shifts to 11-10 overall. 

Freshman Olivia Addington (Oragen, Calif.) paced the Lasell offense with 13 kills, while sophomore Lauren Piper (Scarborough, Maine) dished out 20 assists and three service aces. Sophomore Caitlyn Garcia (Moreno Valley, Calif.) hit the floor for 21 digs and recorded a single service ace for the Lasell defense.

For the Lions, Jules Augustine smashed a match-high 18 kills and jumped up for five block assists to equal 23.5 total points. Fara Cohen and Sam Harton teamed up for the hosts defenense with 22 and 21 digs, respectively, while Elaine Nichols recorded a match-high 29 assists.

Emerson jumped out to a quick lead in the first set going up early 10-4, capped by a service ace from Anne Hall. The hosts would not look back from that point on, closing out the set 25-18. 

The Lasers survived four ties in the second set before sophomore Michele Canestro (Castleton, N.Y.) strung together four straight points, capped by two service aces, to force a Lions timeout. An attack error from the Lasers would slice Emerson's deficit to 23-21, however Canestro swung into a final service ace to knot the game at 1-1 with a 25-21 set victory.

Despite using a .226 hitting percentage, Lasell fell to the Lions early in the third set, as Augustine held serve for a trio of points and a final service ace to force the Lasers to take a timeout. After a Lions error, Garcia took the line again for the Lasers, catching up to the hosts, 10-9. The Lasers would erase the set's deficit and knot the score four times before two service aces from Piper gave Lasell its glimpse of hope, 18-15.  

Augustine would not allow the visitors' lead for long, as she used two visiting service errors and a service ace of her own to tie the set at 19 all. Down by a single point 23-22, the Lasers took their final time out of the set, however the Lions prevailed and secured the victory 25-22, highlighted by a service ace from Cohen.

Both teams resume the court for tri-match action on October 24. The Lasers will head to the University of Saint Joseph's (Conn.) with Norwich University with first-set slated for 10:00 a.m. The Lions will resume Brown Plofker Gym at 11:00 a.m., as they host Framingham State University and Bates College.