Boston, MA - The Lasell Men's Volleyball team defeated #12 Wentworth and Elms at a tri-match hosted by Wentworth on Saturday. The Lasers move to 18-12 on the season, and 12-3 in conference play. They clinched the two seed, and a first round bye, in the GNAC Playoffs that will take place next week. They snapped the Leopards 19 game winnings streak, and handed them their first conference loss of the season.

Match One vs #12 Wentworth

The Lasers took this match in five sets, winning by a final score of 25-16, 25-16, 21-25, 19-25, 15-13.

The Leopards got out to the early lead in set one, leading 11-5. But a 5-0 run by the Lasers got them back in it. They followed that up with another 5-0 run just points later to take a 16-13 lead. They would continue to build their lead, and scored the final three points of the set, with the last two coming on Carter Phillips kills. With the two teams tied at eight in the second set, the Lasers went on a 6-0 run to take control with a 14-8 lead. Throughout the rest of the set, the Lasers continued to build their lead, and took the second consecutive set by a 25-16 set.

The Leopards led start to finish over the next two sets, with the Lasers never holding a lead. This sent the match to a decisive 5th set.

The Leopards kept the momentum going, and led 8-2, but the Lasers did not give up, and fought back. A 3-0 run got them going, but the Leopards still led 10-6 when the Lasers called a match changing timeout. Out of the timeout, the Lasers went on a 9-3 run to upset the Leopards with a 15-13 fifth set win.

The Lasers were led by Brenden Joyce's 27 kills on 44 attempts. Jordan Shinaut also had a big day, collecting 16 kills on 40 attempts. Of the Lasers' 56 kills, Jesus Garcia had 46 set assists. Both Joyce and Shinaut had double-doubles, as they had 12 and 13 digs respectively. Shinaut also recorded six blocks.

Matche Two vs Elms

The Lasers won this match in straight sets, winning 25-12, 25-11, 25-19.

The Lasers got out to a fast start, leading 4-1 and 9-4. After the Blazers used a 3-0 run to make it 10-8, the Lasers used a 12-2 run to take control before ultimately taking the set 25-12. The second set was more of the same, as the Lasers got out to an early 12-4 lead, and never looked back. They scored in bunches, and won the set 25-11. The third set proved to be the closest, as the Blazers led 14-13. But a quick 5-0 run by the Lasers turned things around, and allowed the Lasers to coast to a 25-19 set win, giving them the match.

It was a balanced attack for the Lasers, with Brenden Joyce, David Massa, and Carter Phillips each having nine kills. Jan Baranowski and Jasper Schultz each had seven kills. Of the Lasers 44 kills, Zak Burkett had set assists on 36 of them. Burkett also led the team with eight digs.

Up Next - The Lasers will host the winner of Regis and Rivier (Tuesday Night) on Thursday, April 13th at 7pm in the AC.