NEWTON, Mass. (2/13/16) – The Lasell College men's volleyball team grabbed two Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) victories against Emmanuel College and Mount Ida College on Saturday afternoon inside the Athletic Center. The Lasers advance to 8-4 overall and 4-0 in the GNAC, while the Saints split the afternoon to shift to 6-3, 1-1 GNAC and the Mustangs drop to 2-8, 0-2 GNAC.

Game One: Lasell: 3 Emmanuel: 0 (25-20, 25-19, 29-31)

Junior Patrick MacDonald (Floral Park, N.Y.) paced the Lasers in the first match with 17 kills on a .552 swinging percentage. Junior Tristan Davis (Rochester, N.Y.) followed the lead with 13 kills on 18 attempts (.500%), while senior Ryan Jackson (Canton, Ohio) tallied 12 kills with nine digs. Tying Jackson on the defensive end was freshman Jordan Aprea (Newington, Conn.) who matched with nine digs.

For the Saints, senior Barrett Wingard (York, Pa.) hit into 15 kills for 15.5 points, while freshman Kevin Orsley (San Jose, Calif.) registered nine kills with three service aces. Senior libero Kevin Gallegos (Los Angeles, Calif.) held down the defense with seven digs.

Both teams were neck and neck for a majority of the first set before freshman Andy Henriquez (Lawrence, Mass.) served up a service ace to bump the Lasers up 20-15. An attack error from the Lasers brought the Saints back in it at 21-18, however the hosts grabbed set one on a final error from Emmanuel, 25-21.

While Lasell carried a 2-0 match lead, the Saints would not go out early in the third set as Orsley took the line on a 19-16 deficit, and served up three straight points for force a Lasell timeout. Junior Julian Hess (Venice, Calif.) smashed two service aces to lead the Lasers 24-21, but a pair of kills from Jackson and a Saints' error deadlocked the set 24-all. The two teams battled for match point in the following possessions, with the Lasers finally closing in on the two-point lead, 31-29 on two final kills from MacDonald. 

Game Two: Emmanuel 3: Mount Ida: 0 (25-18, 25-22, 25-19)

Wingard tallied a game-high 11 kills on 23 attempts (.425%) for 14.5 points in the second match of the afternoon. Freshman Erik English (Simi Valley, Calif.) swung into nine kills, while Gallegos hit the floor for 10 digs.

For the Mustangs, junior Peter Griffenkranz (Deer Park, N.Y.) converted on nine attack attempts with four blocks for 11.5 points. Griffenkranz also tallied nine digs in the effort, while senior Jimmy Wessel (DeKalb, Ill.) dished out 11 assists.

After Orsley swung into a kill off the hands of Gallegos, the Saints ran with the lead in set one for a 25-18 victory.  Emmanuel carried its momentum into the second set, leading the Mustangs early 7-4 on a kill from Wingard. The Mustangs chipped away at the deficit as freshman TJ Nicholas (Shelton, Conn.) smashed the tying kill, 22-22, but a final service error awarded the Saints the 25-22 victory en route to the 3-0 takeover.

Game Three: Lasell: 3 Mount Ida: 0 (25-21, 25-7, 25-11)

Davis led the charge for Lasell in the final match of the afternoon with eight kills and four service aces for 14.5 of the game's points. MacDonald swung into seven kills on 12 attempts, and also served up four aces with four digs. Senior Andrew Glenn (Westport, Conn.) dished out 23 assists, while senior William Gold (Ridgefield, Conn.) contributed with a team-high five digs.

Nicholas gave the Mustangs 6.5 points on five kills, while freshman Nate Gyampo (Providence, R.I.) swung into four kills for 5.5 points.

Despite the outcome, the Mustangs hung tight to the Lasers for a majority of the first set. After Gold held service for three straight points (20-13), the Mustangs pestered away at the score to come within four points on a service error from Lasell. A trio of kills from MacDonald and a blast from Glenn awarded the home team the close set, 25-20.

In the closing sets of the league tri-match the Lasers held Mount Ida to just seven kills with 18 kills of their own to come out on top 25-7 and 25-11.

The Lasers will pack up and head to Huntingdon, Pa. for the Juniata Invitational beginning on Friday, February 19. Lasell will take on Juniata in the first match at 5:30 p.m., and will wrap up the tournament against New Paltz St. and Nazareth on Saturday, February 20.

The Mustangs return to action on Tuesday, February 16 at MIT for a 7:00 p.m. match, while the Saints head to the nine-time NCAA Champion Springfield College on Wednesday, February 17 at 7:00 p.m.