New Haven, Conn. – The Lasell volleyball team split a pair of Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) matches with Albertus Magnus and Johnson and Wales on Saturday afternoon in the Cosgrove Marcus Messer Athletic Center.
The Wildcats (29-0, 11-0 GNAC) won both of their matches on the day, 3-0. In the final match of the day, the Lasers (12-18, 6-5 GNAC) topped the host Falcons (7-20, 0-11 GNAC), 3-0. Albertus Magnus finishes the year with three victories at home and four outside of the Elm City.
In the opener, Albertus Magnus battled before falling 25-20, 25-14 and 25-15 to Johnson & Wales. As a team, the hosts had 18 kills, 38 digs and five service aces. The Wildcats were dominant at the net, recording 37 kills and seven total blocks. JWU also took advantage of 17 Falcon attack errors and 10 AMC receiving errors.
Lasell scored a 25-21, 25-20 and 25-23 victory against Albertus Magnus in the nightcap. The back and forth match saw several different lead changes in each frame. Down the stretch, the guests scored five of the final six points to escape with their sixth GNAC win of the season
Freshman outside hitter Amanda DiLeonardo led the offensive charge for the Lasers with a match-high 12 kills to go along with a .222 attack percentage. Sophomore Olivia Addington and freshman Kelly Cappitella both contributed five kills apiece for Lasell in the win. In the middle, setter Taylor Tiezzi had a strong game and picked up 27 assists and nine digs. Defensively, libero Caitlyn Garcia was a force with a match-best 22 digs.
The three-headed Falcon attack was led by David with nine kills. Gomez chipped in seven digs and senior outside hitter Amber Cohens (Hamden, Conn.) had six. Guzman had one of her best games at setter, earning a double-double thanks to an 18-assist, 12-dig performance. On the defensive side of the ball, Bayona had another good game with a team-high 15 digs.
The Lasers earn the 5th seed with the split, and will now play at #4 Simmons on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. for the GNAC Quarterfinal.