NEWTON, MA- For the second time this season, the Lasell College men's volleyball team defeated Johnson & Wales University, 3-0, in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) play, by scores of 25-22, 25-16, and 25-21.
The Lasers earned points on 27.8% of their attempts as a team, scoring 37 points on 79 swings with just 15 errors through three sets. Andrew Glenn (Westport, CT) set up 30 of those 37 total kills in the match and Spencer Parker (Newington, CT) notched 12 of those points, a match-best, hitting a .364 clip. Parker also collected seven digs and added four blocks (two solo, two assisted).
Max Vaughan (Wethersfield, CT) went 6-for-9 (55.6%) on the attack with one error and Mike Harrington (Billerica, MA) added five kills for Lasell. Micah Aiu (Honolulu, HI) was the match leader in digs with nine.
For Johnson & Wales, Alex Viera (Bay Shore, NY) led with ten of the Wildcats 31 total team kills. Eric Minnich (Concord, CA) followed with nine kills, hitting 50% in the match (9-1-16). Steven Velez (San Antonio, TX) was the defensive leader for Johnson & Wales with six digs and Gerard Daniels (Miami, FL) handed out 22 assists in a losing effort.
Johnson & Wales came out in the first set on a 4-1 run, capped by a double-block by Daniels and Dan Struebing (Coventry, RI). Lasell clawed their way back to a 6-all tie on kills by Aiu and Vaughan but the Wildcats managed to pull ahead 10-7 after a tandem block by Minnich and Viera and points by Viera and DelValle on the attack.
The Lasers remained in arrears, falling behind 17-12 through the later stretch before launching a 5-0 run to even the score at 17-all. After settling at 19-all, Lasell took their first lead of the game, 20-19, on a service ace by Vaughan, then extended their lead to game point on a block by Spencer and Aiu. The Lasers sealed the first set on a Wildcat service miscue, 25-22.
In the second set, Lasell took the lead off the bat, and though Johnson & Wales kept in step with the Lasers through the 11th point on each side. After a tie around midway, the Lasers went on to produce the next five points to take a 17-12 edge. Throughout the remainder of the set, Lasell would never relinquish their lead, coming to a 19-14 advantage on a Parker roll shot over the Wildcats triple block and earning a 21-16 lead on a Parker redirected block on an overpassed ball. Parker, who put away six kills in the set, finished the game with a shallow hit onto the Wildcats attack line, as Lasell took set two, 25-21.
The final set was a back-and-forth affair through a 14-all tie, at which point Lasell tallied six straight points. The Wildcats would come back within two points (22-20) but could not get any closer as Harry Strobel (Westport, MA) closed the match with a kill shot down the outside line, giving Lasell a 25-21 win.
Lasell (11-8, 3-2 GNAC) will face no. 13 Emmanuel College on Friday, February 25th at 7:00 p.m. in the Athletic Center.