Women's Volleyball Downs Emmanuel in Afternoon Tri-Match

Women's Volleyball Downs Emmanuel in Afternoon Tri-Match
NEWTON, Mass. (10/15/16) – The Lasell women's volleyball team took a crucial 3-2 win over Emmanuel College on Saturday afternoon in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) action inside the Athletic Center. The Lasers took the Saints by set scores of 25-15, 25-18 and 15-9, before dropping the latter half of the afternoon tri-match with Framingham State 3-1. The Rams took two wins on the day, defeating Emmanuel in the neutral match 3-1.

Game 1: Lasell 3, Emmanuel 2 

The Lasers erased a one set deficit and took the thrilling back and forth match by a score of 16-25, 25-15, 25-18, 20-25, and 15-9.

Olivia Addington (Orange, Calif.) had a double-double for Lasell with 18 digs and 15 kills, while defensively, libero Caitlyn Garcia (Moreno Valley, Calif.) led all players with 27 digs.

Michele Canestro (Castleton, N.Y.) added 12 kills in the victory for Lasell, their second conference win of the season, and Taylor Tiezzi (Meriden, Conn.) posted 36 assists and 16 digs.

The Emmanuel attack was led by Mary Shelow's (Miami, Fla.) 15 kills and the double-double of Cassie Chruscielski (Duluth, Minn.), who posted 10 kills and 16 digs in the five set loss.

Splitting time at the setting position, Carly Church (Higganum, Conn.) assisted on 22 points and Samantha DeMarco (Rockland, Mass.) put up 13 helpers for Emmanuel, who had 92 digs as a team, including five players with double-digit balls dug out.

  

Game 2: Framingham State 3, Emmanuel 1

The Rams took three straight games (25-16, 25-17, 25-16) after Emmanuel had won the final two points in a tight first match for a 25-23 victory and a one-set lead.

The difference was the attacking of senior Alycia Rackliffe (Feeding Hills, Mass.), whose 27 kills was far and away the game-high. Rackliffe had 18 digs and was in on six blocks while hitting .393 for a Rams team that as a team was just under the .200 hitting percentage mark.

The Framingham State offense ran through Mackenzie Whalen (Norton, Mass.), who had 44 assists as well as a pair of service aces and 16 digs.

For the Saints, Chruscielski matched her exact stat-line from the morning match with 10 kills and 16 digs, while Shannon Carroll (Massapequa, N.Y.), Marissa Cataldo (Melrose, Mass.) and Kaitlyn Atkinson (Brookline, N.H.) had six kills apiece, and Cataldo added a team-high 18 digs and two service aces.

Julia Wan (South Deerfield, Mass.) had three of Framingham State's seven service aces, and was the only other Ram in double-digits, with 11 kills to go with 14 digs.

Sarah Leonard (Southborough, Mass.) had a team-high 21 digs and added five kills and a service ace and in the Ram's win. 

Game 3: Framingham State: 3 Lasell: 1

Addington was just shy of yet another double-double as she swung into 14 kills and eight digs for a team-high 16.5 points. Canestro added 12.5 points of her own via 10 kills and three block assists, while freshman Maeghan Calzetta-Partridge (East Lyme, Conn.) jumped up for five blocks.

Rackliffe contributed another tremendous 27 kills, which doesn't touch her season-high number of 29. Leonard was the lone Ram to come close to Rackliffe's numbers, swinging into nine kills and two aces for 11.0 points. Three rams reached double-digits in digs, led by Leonard with 17.

The Lasers will head across town on Wednesday, October 19 to play the Mustangs of Mount Ida College in GNAC action at 6:00 p.m. The Rams will also resume play on Wednesday, as they play host to Salem at 7:15 p.m, while the Saints welcome local league foe Simmons College on Tuesday for a 7:00 p.m. tilt.