NEWTON, Mass. (3/8/16) – The Lasell men's volleyball team dropped a 3-0 decision to the visiting Engineers of MIT on Tuesday evening in the Athletic Center Gym. The Lasers sink to 11-10 overall, while the Engineers advance to 17-5 this season.

Senior Ryan Jackson (Canton, Ohio) led the Lasers with eight kills for 10 points, while junior Tristan Davis (Rochester, N.Y.) tallied 10.5 points from seven kills, three service aces, and a block assist. Leading in assists for the evening was senior Andrew Glenn (Westport, Conn.), who also notched a team-best five digs.

In an evenly balanced first set, the Engineers broke free from Lasell with a quick 4-0 stretch (13-11) as Kaufman held service. The lead would switch back in favor of the hosts, 16-14, as Davis stepped up to the line and served up three straight points. The set deadlocked four more times before Davis swung into a power ace just inside the back line to trail by two, 24-22. The visitors, however, capped their match point off a service error into the net for the 25-22 victory. 

Early error trouble gave MIT an early 18-14 lead on the Lasers in set two, capped by a service ace from Fulay. A blast from Gold turned a 5-3 spurt in favor of the Lasers, only to be answered by a match-point kill from Reilly. A final deciding service into the twine gave the visitors to 2-0 match advantage heading into the final set of the evening.

The Engineers carried their momentum into the last set, forcing two Lasell timeouts amongst a 13-6 run. Miscommunication from the Lasers allowed junior Jordan Lucier (Torrance, Calif.) to serve up seven straight points in the outing, where Dong took over for another 4-0 charge, highlighted by back-to-back kills from Smith. For the first time this set, the Lasers ignited a 6-3 run of their own, beginning with back to back service aces from Davis to pull within seven, 23-16. The Engineers carried out their consistent play on the evening, and swung into two final kills for the 25-16 win.

Both teams resume action on Thursday, March 10 at 6:00 p.m. The Lasers look to stay undefeated in the GNAC as they welcome Albertus Magnus, while MIT hosts Wentworth in a local non-conference test.