NEWTON, Mass. – The Lasell College women's volleyball team captured its first two victories of the season Saturday, defeating Albertus Magnus College and Suffolk University in a pair of Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) at the Lasell Athletic Center.
The Lasers swept Albertus Magnus in the first match of the day by scores of 25-18, 25-21 and 25-21, then came back to finish out the day with a sweep of Suffolk, 25-21, 27-15 and 25-14. Lasell earned its first two wins under head coach Dana Jones, improving to 2-10 overall and 2-0 in GNAC matches. Albertus Magnus is now 5-4 overall and 1-3 in the GNAC and Suffolk is 2-5 and 1-1.
Lasell 3, Albertus Magnus 0
Senior Olivia Addington (Orange, Calif.) posted another double-double for Lasell with a team-high 11 kills and 14 digs. Freshman Kiana Perez (Juncos, P.R.) contributed seven kills, sophomore libero Allie Jo Amos (Prescott, Ariz.) added a season-high 21 digs, and freshman setter Jess Langan (Burnt Hills, N.Y.) was good for 20 assists.
Lasell came out strong, winning the first five points and holding early leads of 8-1 and 11-3. The margin reached nine points (16-7) and was 20-13 late in the set. AMC tried a late comeback with four straight points, but the Lasers closed out the set with four straight points, clinching the decision on a kill by Addington.
The Lasers pulled ahead early in the second set with an 8-3 advantage. The Falcons crawled back to within three points (11-8), but Lasell ran off five straight points, including two kills by Addington, to regain control. Down by six (23-17), AMC made another late comeback with four straight points, but Lasell scored the final two points, including a kill by Perez.
The third set was close early on before Lasell pulled out to a six-point margin, 11-5. The Lasers kept a 5-6 point advantage throughout the set before AMC made a third late run, pulling to within 22-21, but Lasell closed out the match with three straight points, including kills by Perez and sophomore Meg Carroll (Douglas, Mass.) and a service ace by Perez.
Lasell 3, Suffolk 0
Perez had a monster performance for the Lasers with 19 kills and a season-best .486 attack percentage (19-2-35). Addington pounded out nine kills and seven digs, and Amos contributed a team-high 14 digs. Langan continued to perform as the team setter, making 27 set assists.
The first set was close all the way, with tie scores at 6-6, 11-11 and 16-16 before Lasell pulled out a 25-21 decision.
Suffolk had the lead much of the season set, and had a 23-20 late in the set, but Lasell would not go down easily. A pair of kills by Perez helped the Lasers tie the score at 23-all, and Lasell fought off set-points on kills by Perez and Addington. The comeback was complete as the home team took the set, 27-25.
The third set was close early on with Lasell leading just 9-8, but the Lasers ran off six straight points to pull ahead, 15-8. Suffolk could get no closer than six points the rest of the way as the hosts closed out the set and the match.
The Lasers will look to build some momentum with a pair on non-conference matches this week, Tuesday at Newbury College and Thursday at home against Pine Manor.
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