NEW YORK, New York (4/19/15) - The Lasell College men's volleyball team fell to Baruch College 3-2 in the NCAA Division III men's volleyball tournament opener. The Bearcats took the Lasers by set scores of 25-23, 25-20, and 15-11 as they improve to 25-9 overall, while the Lasers took two sets 25-23 and 25-21 to close out their 2015 campaign at 24-9 overall.

Senior Dan Raffol (Natick, Mass.) had 16 kills, while junior Jeff Vautrin (Chicopee, Mass.) was close behind with 14. Raffol had a team-high 10 digs in the loss, while senior Matt Dugan (New Lenox, Ill.) chipped in with nine. 

Senior Nick Smith (Long Beach N.Y.) registered a game-high 21 kills, while junior Taylor Higgs (Antioch, Calif.) led all players defensively with 13 total digs.

Both teams went point-for-point in the opening two sets, where Baruch took the third by five points – the largest set win of the match. The Lasers fired back in the fourth set, clinching the 25-21 victory. After an attacking error on Lasell, the Lasers were forced to take a timeout and regroup. Lasell returned to the court and dominated the following plays, gaining the 17-14 lead from back-to-back kills from the Raffol and Vautrin duo. A block assist by juniors Dalton Whitman (Meriden, Conn.) and Drew Caruso (Haverhill, Mass.) gave the Lasers their largest match lead of 18-14, where they never looked back, forcing the match into a fifth set. 

Baruch set the tone in set five, jumping out to an early 7-3 lead. With Smith on the serve, the Bearcats rattled off five straight points. A kill by Raffol would cut the Lasers' deficit to three (13-10), however, a final kill from senior Chris Kaimis (Uniondale, N.Y.) secured the 3-2 match victory.

The Lasers conclude their 2015 campaign at 24-9, winning a first-ever GNAC Championship with a historical first NCAA Tournament appearance. The Bearcats' season continues on Friday, April 24, as they travel to Hoboken, N.J. to face the Stevens Institute of Technology in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament.