BOSTON, Mass. – The Lasell University men's volleyball team split two matches in a tri-match against Wentworth Institute of Technology and Johnson & Wales University (R.I.) on Saturday afternoon. They fell to Wentworth 3-0 in the first match of the day and then scrapped to find a needed 3-2 victory over Johnson & Wales (R.I.) 

Wentworth 3, Lasell 0

Freshman Garrett Linnell (Las Vegas, Nev.) led the Lasers with 11 kills and an impressive .588 hitting percentage. Senior Scott Sterenberg (Oceanside, N.Y.) finished the match with 10 kills and one service ace.

The Leopards started off with an early lead behind sophomore Drew Hesse (Eden, N.Y.) adding pressure to the Lasers serve receive to go up 8-2. The Leopards dominated the rest of the set to take a 25-12 set one victory.

The home team continued their strong offensive performance in the second set by hitting .448% as a team with only two attacking errors in the set. The Lasers found a little run of their own at 12-7 to bring the set within two points but it wasn't enough to overcome the gap. The Leopards took set two 25-17 and would go on to win the third set as well. 

Lasell 3, JWU 2

Junior Cobi Moore (Danville, N.H.) and senior Sterenberg led the defense for the Lasers with 10 and 13 digs, respectively. Freshman Charles Lavoie (Honolulu, Hawaii) recorded 40 assists in the win.

The Lasers took sets one and three before entering the fifth set against the Wildcats. In the fifth set, the Lasers trailed at the switch, 8-7 right before junior Dillon DeSouza (Enfield, Conn.) served three straight where his team capitalized on scoring. Lasell took an 8-11 lead over the Wildcats. With a 14-11 advantage, the Lasers surrendered two straight points but a final kill from Linnell gave the Lasers a win to take the match 3-2.

The Lasers jumped out to a 10-4 lead in the first set with service runs from Sterenberg and junior Aaron Waitekus (Norwood, Mass.). The Wildcats failed to make a push back into the set and fell short at 25-21.

The Wildcats answered with a strong second set by hitting .458% as a team compared to Lasell hitting .000%. With the match tied 1-1, the Lasers dug deep to find a set three win behind Linnell who found his offense in the third set. The Wildcats could not slow them down as they hit .310% as a team to take the set, 25-20.

Johnson & Wales won the fourth set 25-18 which would force a decisive fifth set. The Lasers would go on to win 15-13 in the fifth.

The Lasers will play next at MIT on Tuesday, February 25 at 7 p.m.

-30-