NEWTON, MA- The Emmanuel College Saints, ranked at no. 13 nationally in the most recent AVCA Top 15 Coaches Poll, swept the Lasell College men's volleyball team, 3-0, this evening at the Lasers Athletic Center. The Saints are now 19-4 overall and stand at 9-1 in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) while the Lasers' record holds at 11-9 this season, 3-3 in the league.
Curtis Abram (San Luis Obispo, CA) and Tyson Rietz (Granite Bay, CA) put away a combined 30 of the Saints 43 team kills. Abram swung for 16 of those kills, hitting 50%, while Rietz added the 14, connecting on 60% of his attempts. Cam Todd (Los Angeles, CA) added five kills for Emmanuel.
Also for the Saints, Jake DeLuise (Wakefield, RI) picked up a match-high 10 digs, followed closely behind by Abrams with eight, and Emmanuel setter Nick Updike (Manhattan Beach, CA) dished out 33 assists in the match.
On Lasell's side of the court, Mike Harrington (Billerica, MA) and Spencer Parker (Newington, CT) each tallied six kills in the match and Harry Strobel (Westport, CT) added five. Strobel also produced a Lasell-best in digs with six while Andrew Glenn (Westport, CT) doled out 19 helpers and added three digs.
Lasell took the first point of the match as Parker put down an individual block on a back side attack by the Saints. The visitors came back to earn their first lead, 4-3, when Todd slammed down a kill in the center of the Lasers court. A 9-2 run ensued for the Saints which the Lasers were unable to recover from. The Saints hit an outstanding 60.9% as a team in the set, with Abram going 7-for-7 and Rietz connecting on 5-of-6 attempts to put away the first set, 25-14.
Harrington got three kills in as many chances in the first set, however, as a team the Lasers produced a hitting percentage of just .158. Mill added two kills and Glenn finished with seven assists.
The Lasers came out ahead in the second game due in large part to Harrington who secured two solo blocks and a kill in the opening points of the set. Emmanuel came back to take the lead, 4-3, on a Todd kill and extended their advantage, 11-7, after another Abram tally.
The Saints took their biggest lead of the game 19-13 before Lasell rallied to come back within two points with an 8-3 run down the stretch. Emmanuel earned game point on an attack by Abram and sealed the set on a Laser service miscue, 25-23.
Abram continued to have notable numbers, matching his first set stats with seven additional kills. DeLuise picked up six digs in the set for the victors.
Parker, Strobel, and Harrington each notched three kills in the set while Alex Mill (Danville, NH) and Glenn collected three digs each.
The hosts pulled ahead 5-2 in the third set before Emmanuel came back to tie the score at 5-all. Emmanuel went on to take as much as an eight point edge (18-10) at which point Lasell responded with a 4-1 run to keep the Saints within reach. Unfortunately for the Lasers, Emmanuel regained their eight point advantage with just two points left to seal the match (23-15). Lasell would score just three more points through the final score which concluded at 25-18.
Rietz tallied seven kills for the match winners, swinging for 50% of his attempts (7-2-10) and adding four digs. Parker added two kills and two blocks in the game while Strobel picked up three digs.
Lasell will hit the road on Wednesday, March 2nd for another conference match against GNAC leader Rivier. The showdown with the Raiders will begin at 7:00 p.m.