Newton, MA - The Lasell Lasers Men's Volleyball team picked up two huge GNAC victories on Saturday, defeating Emmanuel 3-1 and Rivier 3-0. The Lasers now sit at 16-12 on the season and 10-3 in conference play, tied for second with Rivier. Prior to the match, the Lasers honored their six seniors, Jan Baranowski, Jesus Garcia, Rande Monahan, Brenden Joyce, Tucker Merritt, and Riley Grenier.

Match One vs Emmanuel

Set one was a back and forth affair, as the teams traded leads until it was tied at 13. A 9-2 run from the Lasers gave them the control, as it came on the backs of Emmanuel errors and kills from Joyce and Baranowski. The Lasers then took the set 25-18 on a Theo Zaharewicz kill.

After Emmanuel got out to a 6-1 lead early in the second set, the two teams traded points until it was 13-8 Saints. A 5-1 lead by the Lasers drew them within one, and the two teams two trade points the rest of the set until the Lasers tied it at 25 all. But their set comeback came up short, as the Saints scored the final two points of the set to take it 27-25.

The third set was the closest of the match, as neither team held a lead bigger than three. Trailing 12-9, the Lasers turned the corner with a 6-1 run to take a 15-13 lead. Five of the six points came off of kills from Dexter Thomas, Theo Zaharewicz, and Jasper Schultz. But the Saints responded with four straight points of their own, but the Lasers responded, and took the set 25-23.

Up two sets to one, the Lasers didn't play around in the fourth, as they went on an early 6-0 run to make it 11-4. They then extended their lead even further with a 7-1 run that featured kills by Zaharewicz and Joyce. The Lasers then ended the set and the match with back to back kills by Zaharewicz, taking the set 25-16 and the match 3-1.

The Lasers offense came from all over, as five different Lasers had seven or more kills in Theo Zaharewicz (14), Brenden Joyce (12), Jordan Shinaut (9), Dexter Thomas (8), and Jan Baranowski (7). A large portion of those kills came off of Jesus Garcia set assists, as he had 44. Joyce (12), Zaharewicz (10), and Garcia (8) led the team in digs. Baranowski had five total blocks.

Match Two vs Rivier

In a crucial GNAC matchup between the second and third ranked teams in the conference, the Lasers got out to a quick start, leading 11-5 early. But the Raiders went on a 6-1 run to get back into it. The Lasers, not to be outdone, then went on a 6-1 run of their own to take an 18-12 lead. After the Raiders then went on an 8-1 run to take a 20-19 lead. The Lasers were able to close out the set by a score of 26-24.

Set two was another back and forth set. Neither team scored more than three points in a row, but the Lasers scored the Last three points, and took the set 25-23 to go up 2-0 in the match.

The third set was then all Lasers, as they took the lead and never looked back. Up 10-8, they used a 4-0 run to create some distance, and never let their lead get below three. They ended the set on an 8-2 run, winning the set and match on a Theo Zaharewicz kill. They took the set 25-16.

It was a three headed attack for the Lasers in this match, as Zaharewicz had 17 kills, while Joyce and Shinaut had eight each. Of the Lasers 38 kills, Jesus Garcia had a set assist on 35 of them. Garcia also led the team with seven digs. Carter Phillips led the team with four total blocks.

Up Next - The Lasers will play their last regular season home match on Tuesday, April 4th when they host Elms at 7pm.