DALLAS, Pa. – The Lasell University men's volleyball team split their second pair of matches in the Cougar Kick-Off Classic on Saturday afternoon. The Lasers were trumped by the host Misericordia University, 3-1, in the first match and defeated Sage College, 3-0, in the final match of the weekend to start the season 2-2. Junior Cobi Moore (Danville, N.H.) and junior Aaron Waitekus (Norwood, Mass.) were selected to the All-Tournament team for their performances this weekend.

The Lasers will play next at Eastern Nazarene on Tuesday, January 28 at 7 p.m.

Misericordia 3, Lasell 1

Senior Scott Sterenberg (Oceanside, N.Y.) contributed a team-high 13 kills on the match and junior Waitekus added eight of his own kills. Moore totaled 15 digs in the loss.

Sophomore Billy Murphy (Bethpage, N.Y.) and junior Ryan Miller (Mullica Hill, NJ) led the Cougars with 18 and 17 kills, respectively.

The Lasers found themselves down 2-0 entering the third set. Kills from Sterenberg and Waitekus gave Lasell an 8-5 lead. The Cougars stormed back to knot the game up at 13-13. A late push behind sophomore Brandon Hapgood (Wilbraham, Mass.) and Waitekus gave the Lasers a 22-21 lead. From there on they would go on to win 25-21 to force a fourth set.

The experience of the hosts served them to a fourth set victory, 25-23, to close out the match.

Lasell 3, Sage 0

The Lasers defeated Sage College in three sets behind a seven kill, .545 hitting percentage from Hapgood. Moore and freshman Charles Lavoie (Honolulu, Hawaii) rallied the defense with 11 and six digs, respectively.

The Lasers took the first set 25-23.

The next two sets, the Lasers began to settle in. They would go on to gain a 22-11 lead in the second set and won the set with a kill from Sterenberg. The third set was much closer but the Lasers reduced their errors and came out on top 25-21.

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