NEWTON, MA- In just three sets, the Lasell College men's volleyball team topped Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) rivals Mount Ida College by scores of 25-19, 25-20, and 25-23 on Monday night in the Athletic Center. The Lasers improved their overall record to 8-5 while boosting their GNAC slate to 2-1 while the Mustangs fell to 2-7 this season and 1-5 in the league.
To start the first set, the teams played square through a 6-6 tie when Lasell put together a 5-2 run to take an 11-8 lead. The hosts then took a four point edge, 16-12, when Mike Harrington (Billerica, MA) drilled a shot past his blocker to hit dead center in the Mustangs court. Lasell's advantage extended to six as the Lasers came upon set point on an Alex Mill (Danville, NH) kill down the right side line. Harry Strobel (Westport, CT) stroked an attack down the outside line to give Lasell a 1-0 set advantage.
Spencer Hasting (Orlando, FL) accumulated a set high of four kills for Mount Ida while Thomas Belton (Springfield, MA) added five digs. Lasell was led by Strobel and Harrington with three kills each and Mill picked up a set-best six digs.
A dump by Andrew Glenn (Westport, CT) gave Lasell the first point of the second frame, however the teams played even through a 7-all tie, at which point the Lasers took the lead on a monstrous individual block by Harrington and a trifecta of Mustang attack errors. The Lasers drove the score to 17-10 for a team-best margin and then capped the game with a pair of kills by Harrington.
Harrington went 4-for-6 in the set with one error for 50% hitting in the game. Hastings added three more kills to his campaign for the Mustangs.
Lasell fashioned a quick 9-6 edge in the third set but Mount Ida came back late to knot the score at 16-all on an ace by Belton. Lasell then pushed for a 4-0 run which included back-to-back kills by Micah Aiu (Honolulu, HI) and a service ace by Mill.
Mount Ida stayed alive with a 4-0 streak of their own which was capped by a kill by McCoy Arnoux (Brockton, MA) to bring the score to 20-all. The teams played even through a 23-23 tie at which point Lasell earned match point on a Mustang service miscue and sealed the game on a Mustang hitting error.
Hastings finished the match leading all hitters with 10 kills while adding seven digs. Shane Wilson (Gloucester, MA) had 22 assists for the Mustangs and Belton topped all defensive players with nine digs.
Harrington led for Lasell with nine kills in three sets, hitting 46.7% throughout the match on 15 total swings. Strobel and Aiu added seven and six kills, respectively, while scooping up seven digs each. Mill had a game-best nine digs in the match and Max Vaughan (Wetherfield, CT) chipped in with eight more. Glenn produced 30 assists for the Lasers in the GNAC tussle.
Lasell's next contest will be against GNAC foes Johnson & Wales University on Friday, Februrary 18th at 8:00 p.m. The Wildcats are currently 5-3 this season and 2-2 in the GNAC. Mount Ida will play at Rivier College on Thursday, February 17th, for a match with the league-leading Raiders (13-3, 3-0 GNAC), also beginning at 8:00 p.m.