Lasell College won their season opener against MIT, 3-1, in men's volleyball action tonight. After dropping the first set, 22-30, the Lasers rebounded to take game two in extra points, at 37-35. The Lasers held onto that momentum in the third set, winning convincingly at 30-23, followed by a closer fourth, capping the match off with a 31-29 victory.
Michael Demyttenaere (Brussels, Belgium) led the way for the Engineers in the first set, with seven kills on eight total attempts. MIT, who had five matches already under their belt heading into tonight's contest, had a significant advantage throughout the set while Lasell got their kinks out. The Engineers walked off with a seven point edge in game one.
Dan Rogers (Belchertown, Mass.) opened set two for the Lasers with a striking kill to set pace for Lasell's comeback. The set was a battle of side-outs, as the teams went back and forth and neither took more than a three points lead.
At 26-29, Engineers game point, Lasell came back with back-to-back kills by Andy Cass (Wakefield, RI) and Matt Roberts (Agawam, Mass.), followed a faultless double block by David Rogers (Belchertown, Mass.) and Dustin Foster (Ashford, Conn.) to tie at 29 all. Extra points ensued, until the turning point for Lasell came when an MIT service error led them to game point, 36-35. Cass pursued a set from Lasell's freshman setter Brendan McGourn (Southington, Conn.) to put down the final point in an open court.
Lasell came out on an 8-2 run early in the third set before MIT answered at the hands of Garrett Winther (Broomfield, CO). Winther put down three key kills to bring the Engineers within four points at 22-26. Lasell capitalized on MIT errors to end the set.
In the final set of the evening, MIT chipped away at a 2-7 deficit, to tie the game at sixteen. The game remained tight from that point out but the Lasers pulled away with the match after David Rogers hit a line shot past two blockers to find a hole in MIT's defense to go up 30-29. McGourn then sealed the victory with a kill off an overpass to end the match.
Roberts was on fire for Lasell, finishing the match with a game-best 18 kills, while also picking up ten digs. Lasell's libero, senior Joseph Lipski (Burlington, Conn.) also produced a game-high, with 14 digs in the contest. David Rogers added twelve kills, ten digs, and 2.5 blocks, and Dan Rogers put down nine balls and closed in on 3.5 total blocks. McGourn ended the night with 49 assists in the four sets.
On MIT's side, Demyttenaere had 14 kills and three aces, and Eric Reuland (Laguna Niguel, CA) was close behind with 12 kills and added 10 digs. Philip Rogoz (Lincolnwood, IL) and Tim Lee (Natick, Mass.) shared time in the setters position, with 35 combined assists.
MIT, who was selected #8 in the NECVA pre-season polls and is currently ranked 2nd in the New England Division, is now 2-4 overall this season. Lasell is now 1-0 this season and faces GNAC opponents Johnson & Wales Saturday, January 24th, at 1:00 p.m., in Providence.