NEWTON, Mass. (3/31/16) – In a hard fought conference battle, the Lasell volleyball team came up short to the Leopards of Wentworth Institute of Technology 3-1 in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) play on Thursday evening in the Athletic Center. With the crucial victory, the Leopards take the number one seed in conference standings at 11-2 and 19-8 overall, while the Lasers dip to 10-2 in league action and 14-12 this season.
Prior to tonight's contest, Lasell College honored its three graduating seniors for their outstanding contributions to the men's volleyball program. Andrew Glenn (Westport, Conn.), Ryan Jackson (Canton, Ohio) and Dalton Whitman (Meriden, Conn.) have displayed extraordinary leadership on and off the court, and the Lasell community would like to wish them well in their future endeavors.
Junior Patrick MacDonald (Floral Park, N.Y.) led the attack for the Lasers with 14 kills on .273 hitting with seven additional digs, while Jackson tallied nine kills and eight digs in the effort. Glenn dished out 37 assists in the evening, totaling 3,965 after his last regular season home game as a Laser.
For the visitors, junior Jake Reed (Arvada, Colo.) used a game-high 16 kills, hitting .600, to contribute 17 of the Leopards' 70 points. Two additional leopards hit the double-digit marker in kills, as sophomore Jon Roat (Macedon, N.Y.) and junior Alex Potts (Niverville, N.Y.) swung into 15 and 10, respectively. Sophomore Kevin McPeek (Bethlehem, Pa.) poured in a game-best 50 assists in the victory.
Neither team had a worthy opening on the attack, as a combined 11 errors on both sides gave Wentworth the lead, 11-8. Potts dished out an assist to Oshman, who swung into a major kill forcing Lasell to take its first time out. The Leopards wouldn't back down after the break, as Oshman and McPeek jumped to stuff an attack attempt from Davis, igniting a 6-2 stretch for the visitors. A pair of service errors from the Leopards granted Lasell possession once more, however back to back kills from Potts and Reed forced Lasell to take its second timeout, trailing 22-13. Wentworth carried a closing 3-1 stretch to conclude set one, highlighted by a final service ace from Reed.
Lasell bounced back and rode a hot streak in set two, as Glenn held service for three straight points before MacDonald swung into a power ace to force the Leopards to time a timeout, 13-8. Lasell would keep Wentworth at bay until the set came to a close, however, the Leopards would not go quietly. A pair of kills by Reed and Mullen sliced the score to 22-19, before an Oshman kill put the Lasers in their first timeout of the set. Jackson swung over the net for a final kill, where a WIT service error sealed the 25-21 set victory for the home team.
Lasell carried its momentum into the beginning of the first set, as an ace by Davis doubled up on WIT 8-4. Lasell would hold the lead, highlighted by five points (two service aces) from Davis, until a blast from Potts tied the score up 17-17. The set deadlock five additional times with each team battling for match point. At 25-all, MacDonald and Glenn returned an attack from Mullen that landed just inside the sideline, but back to back kills from Oshman and Reed gave Wentworth the eventual two-point lead, 29-27.
Riding a 2-1 match lead, the Leopards used a .524 swinging percentage to take out Lasell once and for all, 25-12. Zach Newhouse held service for four straight points, before Mullen hit into two service aces to go along with four more points from the line for the 22-10 lead. Reed registered his third closing kill of the evening (25-12), as the Leopards left the Athletic Center with a 3-1 victory.
Both teams will close out the 15-16 season with conference games on Saturday, April 2. The Lasers will head to local GNAC foe Emmanuel College for a league tri-match with Johnson and Wales beginning at 2:00 p.m., while the Leopards travel to Emerson College at 1:00 p.m.
