Men's Volleyball Swept by Rivier

Newton, Mass. (4/3/13) – The Lasell College men's volleyball team dropped a closely contested three set affair to #15 ranked Rivier University on Wednesday night at the Lasell Athletic Center. The visiting Raiders won in three sets by scores of 25-19, 28-26 and 25-22. Rivier improved to 21-11 overall while pushing their winning streak in GNAC matches to 29 consecutive victories and climbing to 11-0 in the league this season. Lasell dropped back to .500 overall at 12-12 while falling to 5-6 in conference action.

Dan Raffol (Natick, Mass.) and Alex Mill (Danville, N.H.) notched nine and eight kills respectively for Lasell who also got six kills from Matt Dionne (Danville, N.H.) in the match.

Aaron Almario (Alhambra, Calif.) led a trio of Raiders in double figure kills with 16, followed by Terance Matatall (Danville, N.H.) and Chris Markunson (Cupertino, Calif.) with 12 and 10 respectively. Steve Visentin (Cheshire, Conn.) directed a potent Rivier attack, dishing out 4 assists on the day and Matt Bynon (Burnt Hills, N.Y.) posted a match-high 11 digs for the Raiders.

The Lasers opened the match taking a narrow early lead in the first set, leading by three points on multiple occasions, including at 12-9 on a kill by Mill. The Raiders responded by tallying six of the next seven points to take a 15-13 lead. Lasell battled back and briefly retook the lead at 17-16, before the visitors pulled away for the 25-19 win in the opening set.

Lasell again used a strong start in the second set to take an early lead, eventually going on top by as many as five at 18-13. Rivier showed good toughness, again fighting back from behind to score six out of seven points tying the set at 19-19. Neither team led by more than a single point the rest of the set, and both teams had opportunities at set point, before River pulled out the set 28-26 on a Matatall ace to go on top 2-0.

The third set was a very back-and-forth affair, and when Rivier's Almario notched a kill to make it 9-9, the set had already seen five ties in the early going. The Raiders made a push to build their lead to 14-10, and Lasell cam right back at them, tying the set at 16-16 and again at 18-18. A kill by Matatall broke the tie, putting Rivier ahead 19-18, and the visitors would never relinquish their lead, to marrowly escape with the 25-22 victory to take the match 3-0.

Both teams are back at it tomorrow night, with Rivier playing host to Wentworth, and Lasell facing off with Emmanuel at home at 7:00 when they will honor seniors Alex Mill and Chris Burns in a ceremony before the game.