NEWTON, Mass. (10/5/16) – The Lasell women's volleyball team suffered 3-0 defeat to Simmons College in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) action on Tuesday evening in the Athletic Center.  The loss drops the Lasers to 5-12 overall and 1-2 in league play, while the Sharks advance to 5-9 this season and even out at 2-2 in the GNAC.

The Sharks downed the Lasers 25-15 in the first set, and topped the hosts 25-22 and 25-17 in the final sets of the evening on a .250 and .263 swinging percentage.

The Lasers were paced by sophomore Olivia Addington (Orange, Calif.) who contributed six points on five kills and a single service ace. Defensively, junior libero Caitlyn Garcia (Moreno Valley, Calif.) registered 17 digs, while junior setter Lauren Piper (Scarborough, Maine) served up 10 assists.

Simmons first year Morgan Weeg (Goodyear, Ariz.) registered her 10^th double-double of the season with 14 kills and 16 digs. The standout outside hitter continued her dominance in her rookie season with a .343 killing percentage for a combined 18.5 points overall. Senior Abby Hart (Westfield, Mass.) and junior Amber Peterson (Las Vegas, Nev.) swung into nine kills apiece, while libero Alex Itasaka (Bradford, Mass.) reached double digits in digs for the 13^th time this season with 23.

The Sharks jumped out to an early lead in the first set, as Hart swung into a kill from Kenna McCarthy (Shelter Island, N.Y.) to give Simmons a 7-3 advantage. The Lasers used junior Michele Canestro (Castleton, Vt.) on the serve to pull within a pair at 12-10, but the Sharks sparked a 5-0 run and never looked back to take the first set 25-15.

Lasell showed some spark in the second set as both teams battled back and forth to an early 3-3 deadlock. The Sharks continued their offensive pace and ran with a 10-5 stretch for a 14-8 lead. Lasell junior Meredith Eagan (North Andover, Mass.) assumed the service line and swung into three consecutive services aces to pull within a single point, 14-13. A kill from freshman Amanda DiLeonardo (West Haven, Conn.) kept Lasell in the game for the closing plays, 23-22, but the Sharks remained composed and capitalized on a Lasell error before the Hart/McCarthy duo sealed the set 25-22.

In a 14 team kill/.263 percentage performance, the Sharks jumped out to an early lead in the 3^rd set and remained at the forefront for the match's remainder. Weeg swung into half of the team kills for a tremendous .467 swinging percentage to lead the visitors to the 25-17 set win, and the 3-0 conference match victory.

The Lasers return to the Athletic Center on Saturday, October 8 when they host Anna Maria and Rivier for a crucial GNAC tri-match with first serve set for 11:00 a.m. The Sharks will host Saint Joseph's (Me.) for a league contest on Monday, October 10 at 1:00 p.m.