NEWTON, Mass. (4/2/15) – The Lasell College Men's Volleyball team defeated Emerson College 3-0 in straight sets by scores of 25-21, 25-18, and 25-21 Thursday evening in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) match up. The Lasers improve to 20-8 overall and 8-4 in conference play, while the Lions drop to 12-11 overall and 4-8 in the GNAC.   

Prior to the match, Lasell College honored its two dedicated senior co-captains, Dan Raffol (Natick, Mass.) and Matt Dugan (New Lenox, Ill.). Raffol is the only player in the history of the men's volleyball program to exceed 1,000 kills and currently holds the all-time record with 1,054. Raffol also ranks fourth all-time in careers digs with 690 in 109 matches played. Dugan exemplified enthusiasm and talent on and off the court, and ranks fourth all-time in assists with 1,394 and sixth all-time in digs with 522. Both members have brought four years of commitment, leadership, and dedication to the team, and we wish them well in their future endeavors.  

Raffol and junior Jeff Vautrin (Chicopee, Mass.) each had 13 kills apiece on the evening, while sophomore Tristan Davis (Rochester, N.Y.) had a team-high four service aces. Junior Andrew Glenn (Westport, Conn.) recorded a game-high 39 assists on the night with an additional six digs.

For the Lions, junior Jackson Wiley (Los Angeles, Calif.) dominated the court with a game-high 18 kills while classmate Brendan McGonigle (Los Angeles, Calif.) set the ball 29 times for the visitors.  

The Lasers started out strong with five straight serves from Davis sending them on a 9-3 run during the first set.  The Lions were able to close the gap to two (19-17) until junior Drew Caruso (Haverhill, Mass.) recorded three points for the Lasers while on the serve.  Lasell held off Emerson's attacking offense by ending the set with kill from Vautrin.  The Lasers used a .333 hitting percentage to claim the opening set 25-21.

With a 12-6 lead half way through the second set, the Lasers went on a 5-0 run with successful serves from Caruso to break open the game 23-15.  Emerson would not let down responding with three points via kills from freshman Nick Rusk (Weston, Fla.), McGongile, and junior Jared Gross (Wexford, Pa.).  A service error by Rusk ended the set for the visitors at 25-18, as the conference opponents headed into the third set 2-1 in favor of the hosts. 

Lasell led end-to-end in the third and final set, opening with a 12-3 run.  The Lions responded by tampering with the score until they closed the gap to four points (16-12).  Davis served another four straight serves to open the lead back up to eight at 20-12,  but before the Lasers could close the set, junior Ben Hillman (South Pasadena, Calif.) squeezed in five points closing the Laser lead to just three (23-20).  Lasell maintained its advantage with a final kill from Glenn to seal the set 25-21 and a 3-0 clear out.  

Emerson College hosts a tri-match with Lasell College and Albertus Magnus that will close out the GNAC regular season for all three teams on Saturday, April 4 with match times at 11:00 a.m., 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m.