Women's Volleyball Drops Two in GNAC Tri-Match

NEWTON, Mass. The Lasell women's volleyball team dropped two Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) contest in a Saturday afternoon tri-match with Anna Maria and Rivier inside the Athletic Center. The Lasers fell to the AMCATS by set scores of 25-18, 25-20, and 25-22 before the Raiders took Lasell 25-13, 25-18, and 26-24.

In the neutral match, the Raiders downed the AMCATS 25-17, 25-18, and 25-16 to go 2-0 on the afternoon. The Raiders jump to 18-2 overall and 2-1 in the GNAC, while Anna Maria's 1-1 outing shifts them to 13-8 this season and 3-3 in the conference. The pair of losses drops the Laser to 5-14 overall and 1-4 in the GNAC.

Lasell vs. Anna Maria

Sophomore Olivia Addington (Orange, Calif.) led the Lasers with 12 kills and a service for 13.5 points. Addington and freshman Amanda DiLeonardo were the two lone Lasers to reach double figures in points, as DiLeonardo chipped in with seven kills and a trio of service aces. Defensively, junior libero Caitlyn Garcia (Moreno Valley, Calif.) registered 14 digs, while Taylor Tiezzi (Meriden, Conn.) served up 27 assists.

For the AMCATS, sophomore Amari King (Lawrence, Mass.) recorded her 10^th double-double of the season with a match high 19 kills and 15 digs. King averaged a tremendous .429 kill percentage for 22.5 points overall. Following in double digit-kills was junior Rebecca Foti (Bedford, N.H.), who swung into 11 in the set with an additional 10 digs. Caroline Garcia (Springfield, Mass.) held down the AMCATS defense with 22 digs in the winning effort.

Anna Maria took the Lasers by storm with a .414 and .500 kill percentage in the opening two sets. Of 14 total team kills, Amari swung into six, while junior Michele Canestro (Castleton, N.Y.) swung into three for the Lasers.

The Lasers were at the forefront of the set in the early, taking a 4-3 lead via an attack error. The AMCATS deadlocked the set 5-5 and never looked back, as a final two kills from Foti and Alyssa Goulet (Lawrence, Mass.) sealed the frame, 25-18.

The visitors took set two in similar fashion, as a 6-1 run led by Tierney Clancey (Meriden, Conn.) set the AMCATS up early. Lasell showed some light in the final plays of the set, with DiLeonardo on the service line. Two service aces, a kill, and an AMCATS attack error pulled the Lasers within four, 23-19, but a final King kill gave the visitors a 2-0 match lead heading into the final set.

Lasell switched gears in the third set and took a commanding 10-7 lead via Addington, DiLeonardo, and junior Meredith Eagan (North Andover, Mass.). The set experienced four deadlocks before the visitors ran with a 5-3 stretch to grab a 20-17 advantage. A trio of kills from King and two Lasell errors put the game out of reach for the Lasers, as the AMCATS came on top with a 25-22 set victory and a 3-0 conference win.

Anna Maria vs. Rivier

In the neutral match, Rivier took the AMCATS in straight sets, 25-17, 25-18, and 25-16. Seniors Dana Mott (Medway, Mass.) and Lauren Silverman (Chelmsford, Mass.) unleashed on the court for the Raiders, contributing 15 and 13 kills, respectively. Silverman posted 17 kills on 23 attempts for a .609 swinging percentage, while Mott averaged a .591 percentage.

King again led the AMCATS in the effort with nine kills, nine digs, just short of double figures. Foti followed with seven kills for Anna Maria, while Garcia held down the defense with 12 digs.

Lasell vs. Rivier

Addington again paced Lasell with nine kills for nine points. Canestro added nine points for the Lasers as well with eight kills and a service ace. Tiezzi reached double figures in assists and digs with 17 and 10, respectively.

Rivier's Molly McCormack (Ballston Lake, N.Y.) smacked 15 of the Raiders' 38 kills with an additional 11 digs. McCormack's double-double, her fourth of the season, helped her to 15.5 points in the victory with an additional block assist. Sophomore Hayley Macken (Clifton Park, N.Y.) added eight kills in the effort to go along with a match-high 28 assists.

The Raiders hit .321 and .243 in the first and second sets, respectively, before the Lasers came out firing in the final set of the afternoon. The two teams battled point from point before Lasell was able to pull away on a 10-6 lead via a kill from Canestro. Lasell stuck with the lead until an attack error surrendered the advantage, forcing the Lasers to take a time out.

A 5-3 run from the Raiders gave them a 22-18 lead, where the Lasers ignited a 4-0 charge to deadlock the set 22-all. DiLeonardo kept the set alive with a kill from Tiezzi that pulled the home team within one, 24-23, but two final errors from Lasell sealed the 26-14 match win for Rivier.

The Lasers will head to local non-conference foe Newbury College on Monday, October 8 with first serve slated for 4:00 p.m. The Raiders return to play on Monday as well when they travel to Boston, Mass. for a GNAC match with Suffolk University at 6:00. p.m. Anna Maria is off until Thursday, October 13 when it travels to Wentworth for a 7:00 p.m. game.