Seniors Lead No. 11 Men's Volleyball to Winningest Season with 3-0 Victory over Ida

Seniors Lead No. 11 Men's Volleyball to Winningest Season with 3-0 Victory over Ida
NEWTON, Mass. (4/4/17) – The No. 11 Lasell College men's volleyball team honored its four graduating seniors in a straight sweep against Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) rival Mount Ida College on Tuesday evening inside the Athletic Center. With their second straight win the Lasers move to 25-5, hitting an all-time program-best wins record in a single season.

The Lasers move to 10-1 in conference play, while the Mustangs sink to 12-17 overall and 1-11 in the GNAC.

The senior class shined as the Lasers downed its crosstown rival by set scores of 25-18, 25-13, and 25-16. Tristan Davis (Rochester, N.Y.), who has swung into 10 or more kills 14 times this season, registered 10 kills and three service aces, bumping his career total to 158, a Lasell College best. Classmate Patrick MacDonald (Floral Park, N.Y.) owned the service line with four aces, contributing 10.5 points overall with a block assist and six digs. Jeffrey Vautrin (Chicopee, Mass.) and William Gold (Ridgefield, Conn.) smacked four kills apiece in the winning effort, to round out the senior performances. We would like to thank Tristan, Patrick, Jeffrey, and Will for their four-year commitment and leadership to the men's volleyball program, and we wish them the best in their future endeavors.

For the opposition, Kevin Vanderhorst (Lawrence, Mass.) led the Mustangs' attack with 7.5 points on six kills and three block assists, while Nelson Leadbetter (Athol, Mass.) hit the floor for five digs defensively. Tyler Shinkle (West Deptford, N.J.) followed Vanderhorst with five kills in the effort, giving Ida 5.5 points with an additional block assist.

The Mustangs hit .238 in the first set, and trailed Lasell by just three, 16-13, after a 5-1 run capped by a service ace from Sprengle. Lasell quickly built a comfortable lead with a 5-3 run of their own led by Davis and MacDonald, before A final service ace from Nathan Gallo (Providence, R.I.) sealed the first set for Lasell. The latter sets were in recognizable favor of the hosts, as the Lasers hit .733 and .333 as a team to send the Mustangs home in straight sets.

Both teams return to conference action on Thursday, April 6, before closing out the regular season on Saturday. The Lasers will head to Nashua, N.H. for a crucial GNAC match against Rivier, while the Mustangs host Albertus Magnus. First serve for both games is set for 7:00 p.m.