The Lasers women's volleyball team played today against a strong Norwich University team, and though the Lasers never gave up, staying close and nearly taking set 2, they fell to the Cadets 25-23, 26-24, 25-21.
From the start of the match, it was obvious the game would be a battle, with long volleys and intense defense on both sides, neither team was going to admit defeat easily.Lasell's Nicole Wetterman (Dighton, MA) was on point throughout the match, leading the Lasers by making smart decisions and strong hits on the court.
In game one, the Cadet's setter, Molly Rice (Sunapee, NH) played a smart offense by dumping to the middle of the court, and Norwich went up 11-6.After making a few adjustments in their defense, the Lasers rallied for a comeback, starting with a kill by outside hitter Melanie Costa (Ludlow, MA) which she placed perfectly in the back right corner of the court.
The Lasers then continued to chip away at the Norwich lead, by capitalizing on the Cadets errors, and found themselves tied at 22.After a side out, Norwich regained control of the ball, and served for game point.A finely placed tip in the middle by Lisset Magdaleno (Whittier, CA), assisted by Rice, completed game one for the Cadets.
The Lasers came out with a 10-2 lead over Norwich, by finding holes in the Cadet's defense, and the Lasers' lead continued to grow. Lasell's Kelsey Schmidt (Ballston Spa, NY) and Jenna- Lynn Geary (Marion, MA) produced a faultless block to make the game 20-12.At which point Norwich regained composure and went on a run of their own.
The Cadets tied the game at 23, and took the 25-24 lead with a kill off a tip to the middle by Magdeleno.Game point was also scored by Magdeleno when she blocked an overpass by the Lasers.
The Lasers came out to an early deficit in game three, and went down 22-11.The Lasers were not about to give up though, as they clawed their way back into the game, guided by the fantastic play of Wetterman and Amanda Major (Southbury, CT) who picked up 31 digs in the match.
At a 14-24 disadvantage to the Lasers, the team made a side out for what would have been the Cadets match point, and Major serveda six point run, finishing the match 25-21.
Wetterman collected 6 kills and 16 digs in today's match, and Schmidt threw in a team high 7 kills.Danielle Drapeau (Biddeford, ME) had 5 kills and 4 solo blocks for the Lasers, and the Lasers freshman setter Meghan Crozier (Ballston Spa, NY) picked up 17 assists in the match.
The Lasers next match is Friday, October 10th at Emerson College, where they will play in a conference tri-match with Emerson and Emmanuel College.