BOSTON, Mass. (9/12/17) – Despite an extended third set comeback, the Lasell women's volleyball team dropped a 3-0 decision to the Leopards of Wentworth Institute of Technology on Tuesday evening inside Tansey Gymnasium. Lasell drops to 3-5 overall, while Wentworth remains undefeated at 8-0 in its best start in program history.
Olivia Addington (Orange, Calif.) added eight points for Lasell in the effort on six kills and two aces. Senior Michele Canestro (Castleton, N.Y.) narrowly missed double-digit kills with nine total for nine points, while classmate Meredith Eagan (North Andover, Mass.) swung into six kills and a block assist for 6.5 points.
Caitlyn Garcia (Moreno Valley, Calif.) added 22 digs as the Lasers' libero, while Taylor Tiezzi (Meriden, Conn.) dished out 20 assists.
Claire Quick (Mission Viejo, Calif.) was the lone Leopard to reach double-digit kills with 11 in the victory, followed by Leah Rogoz (Woodridge, Ill.) who finished with nine. Rogoz hit.381 on the evening, and additionally registered 13 digs. Lexie Cambray (Bedford, N.H.) was the team's defensive leader, with 18 digs in the win.
As the score read 17-13 in favor of the hosts in the first set, Canestro and setter Tiezzi smashed a kill apiece to help pull the Lasers within three, 19-16. Lauren Piper (Scarborough, Maine) swung into an ace to slice the deficit to two, but Wentworth kept the Lasers at bay with the next six of seven points for the 25-18 final, in part to two kills from Rogoz.
Wentworth hit .250 in the second set, and came flying out of the gates with an opening 4-0 showing with Kayla Chen (Irvine, Calif.) on the service line. An attack error by Quick broke the ice for the Lasers, but the Leopards rode momentum and rattled off four unanswered points for the 8-1 score. The Leopards proved to be untouchable in the frame, as a final service ace from Lillie Clark (Vista, Calif.) sealed the 25-11 victory heading into the third and closest set of the evening.
The Lasers built a 23-17 advantage led by five kills from Canestro in the later stages of the frame. The set was all but over, as Samantha Lassiter (Rogers, Ark.) took the service line and rode a six-point surge to knot the score at 23-all. The two teams battled point for point until Katelyn Carlson (Stratford, Conn.) and Lassiter jumped up for a block to put Wentworth in its final match point position. The Carlson/Lassiter duo again denied the Lasers back in, for the 31-29 score, and the longest set for either team this season.
The Lasers head to Nashua, N.H. on Saturday for their next competition, when they face the Raiders and the Anchormen of Rhode Island College in a tri-match beginning at 11:00 a.m. The Leopards return to action on Thursday back in Tansey Gymnasium when they host Newbury College at 7:00 p.m.