Weston, MA – For the first time in school history, the Lasell Women's Volleyball team walked away with a conference championship, winning the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Championship on Saturday with a 3-1 win over the number two seed Regis. The Lasers won 25-22, 25-19, 23-25, 25-16. The win moves the Lasers to 27-4 on the season, and adds to an already historic season. Regis fell to 26-8 on the season. Both teams set new program records for wins.
It was back and forth early, as the two teams traded the first 12 points. After a couple of mini runs by both teams, the Lasers were the first to seemingly gain momentum, as they went on a 5-1 run to take a 13-11 lead. That run included an ace from McKenna McCool and a kill from Tori Scambray. But the Pride responded right back scoring three straight points, and four of five to take a one point lead at 15-14. After the Lasers once again went on a 5-1 run to grab control at 21-17, the Pride once again answered with a 4-0 run of their own, tying things up at 21. But the Lasers were able to score four of the last five points, winning the set 25-22 on an Emily VanHouten kill.
Where the first set was back and forth, the second set was one of runs. The Pride got up early, utilizing a 5-0 run to take a 9-5 lead. The teams would trade some points before the Lasers scored three straight points to make it 14-13 Pride. After a lone Regis point, the Lasers would score three straight again to grab a 16-15 lead. After a pair of Regis points, the Lasers would once again score three in a row, and grab a 19-17. They would roll from there, scoring six of the last eight points, including the final four, taking the set 25-19.
One set away from the a championship, the Lasers got up early in the third, using a 5-0 run featuring two kills from VanHouten to make it 7-4. But Regis did not go away easily, and used an 8-2 run to take a lead. After the two teams traded 3-0 runs, the Pride led 17-15. A pair of Lasell points tied it, but a timely 3-0 run from the Pride gave them control, and they would take the set 25-23.
Not wanting to give the Pride any more momentum, the Lasers came out firing in the fourth, grabbing an 8-3 lead. But the Pride would once again not go away quietly, scoring the next four points. After the two teams traded a pair of points, the Lasers went on a run that would help make history, scoring seven of the next eight points, punctuated by three straight kills from Juliana Medini. This made it 16-7, and the Lasers were able to cruise the rest of the set, winning 25-16, clinching the set and match on a Morgan Bogli kill.
The Lasers got stand-out performances from a number of players, but were led by the tournament MVP, Juliana Medini. She had 15 kills and seven total blocks. Outside of her, the Lasers got help from a little bit of everyone on offense, as Kyra Paris (nine kills), Tori Scambray (eight kills), McKenna McCool (seven kills), Emily VanHouten (seven kills), and Morgan Bogli (five kills) contributed. For a majority of those kills, it was Sydney Katz running the offense, as she had 38 set assists. That set a new school record for set assists in a playoff match, breaking Taylor Tiezzi's record of 32 set in 2016. Defensively, three players recorded double-digit digs, led by Maddie Caro's 14. Right behind her was VanHouten and McCool with 11 and 10 each.
In addition to Medini being named the GNAC Tournament MVP, both Caro and McCool were named to the All-Tournament team.
The Pride were led by Avery Mola (10 kills), Ahnasia Mckinney (23 set assists), and Kamdyn Tenorio (15 digs.
Up Next – The Lasers will find out their next opponent on Monday, when the 2023 NCAA Division III Women's Volleyball Tournament bracket is unveiled at 1pm
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Victoria Briones, Saint Joseph's College
Maddie Caro, Lasell
McKenna McCool, Lasell
Ahnasia Mckinney, Regis
Juliana Medini, Lasell – Tournament MVP
Kate Montigny, Regis
Chelsea Simmons, Simmons