NEWTON, Mass. (4/9/15) – The Lasell College men's volleyball team earned a spot in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) championship after defeating Wentworth 3-0 by set scores of 25-15, 28-26 and 25-21 Thursday evening in the Athletic Center. The Lasers improve their record to 23-8, while the Leopards close their season at 22-8.
With the win, Lasell will make its first appearance in the GNAC Championship match since 2011 where they faced off against the opponent they will take on this upcoming Saturday, Rivier University.
The Lasers were paced by senior Dan Raffol (Natick, Mass.) and junior Jeffrey Vautrin (Chicopee, Mass.) who each contributed with 11 kills apiece. Junior Drew Caruso (Haverhill, Mass.) registered eight kills for the hosts, while sophomore Patrick MacDonald (Floral Park, N.Y.) added six kills.
Sophomore Jake Reed (Arvada, Colo.) and freshman Jon Roat (Macedon, N.Y.) led the Leopards with 11 kills each, while Roat additionally added a team-high six digs.
The Lasers used a .467 hitting percentage to take the Leopards in the first set 25-15. Back-to-back service aces from Vautrin bumped Lasell up 5-1, where the visitors were forced to take a timeout. A block my MacDonald sent the Lasers up in double figures (12-6), as the hosts held on to the lead for the entire opening set. The Lasers extended their advantage with a 7-2 spurt that pushed the score out of reach at 19-8. Both teams traded points to close the opener, but Lasell dug deep to claim the first set 25-15.
After starting the second set tied at 3-3, Wentworth tallied the next two points on an attacking error by Lasell and a service ace by sophomore Alex Potts (Niverville, N.Y.) for their first lead in the contest, 5-3. The Lasers reclaimed the lead, 9-7, as Raffol successfully served twice in a row, forcing the visitors to take a timeout. The set was tied nine more times, with the last one at 26-26.
Lasell sophomore Tristan Davis (Rochester, N.Y.) was given the serve for the final two points as the Lasers scored on an attacking error by the Leopards followed by a service ace by Davis giving Lasell a 28-26 set win and a 2-0 lead in the match.
The third set featured 13 ties and three lead changes as Lasell hit .257 to claim the final set and the game 3-0. With the score at knotted at 21-21, the Lasers went on a 4-0 run to win 25-21 and seal their spot in the GNAC Championship game on Saturday. Vautrin was given the serve as he registered a kill from junior Andrew Glenn (Westport, Conn.) that made the score 23-21. Wentworth's defense couldn't hold up as two service errors cost the Leopards the set and the match, 25-21 and 3-0.
Lasell travels to Rivier for the GNAC Championship game set for Saturday, April 11 at 1:00 p.m., while Wentworth awaits for a potential at-large bid into the upcoming NCAA Division III Men's Volleyball Tournament.