(Courtesy of Lasell Sports Information)
Newton, Mass. – The Lasell College men's volleyball team downed non-conference opponent Wentworth Institute of Technology tonight in a 3-0 match. The Lasers even out their season record to 1-1 after the win while the Leopards lost their first match of the year, finishing with a 2-1 overall slate.
Wentworth went up in the first game 8-5, capitalizing on Lasell errors. However, Lasell came back and evened out the score at 11-all with a kill to the deep corner by freshman outside hitter Spencer Parker (Newington, CT). Parker then went on a 4-0 service run to give Lasell the advantage that they held the remainder of the set. Harry Strobel (Westport, CT) hit a line shot to end the first set, 30-25, in favor of the Lasers.
In the second set, Lasell's sophomore setter Brendan McGourn (Southington, CT) got the Lasers off on the right foot with an immediate point off a service ace. Wentworth evened out the score early on at 5-all with a kill from Chuck Gregory (New Bedford, MA), however, Lasell took back control of the scoreboard quickly. Micah Aiu (Honolulu, HI) and Parker put down four kills apiece in the set, with no errors, and Dan Rogers (Belchertown, MA) finished the first set with a service ace. Lasell took game two, 30-22.
The final game of the match was a back-and-forth affair with every point resulting in a side-out for the first twenty points of the match. Lasell broke away to take a 14-10 lead with Alex Mill (Danville, NH) serving the 4-0 stretch. Though the Leopards closed the gap slightly, the Lasers retained the narrow lead through the final points of the contest, resulting in a 30-26 Lasell victory.
McGourn finished the match with 42 assists and five digs. Aiu was dominant for the Lasers on the right side, making 12 kills, hitting 42.9% overall, and adding six digs and two blocks. Parker tallied eight kills and Will Leclerc (Fairfield, CT) and Mike Harrington (Billerica, MA) each produced six additional kills for Lasell.
The Leopards had a fine defensive performance from Marc Larue (Lincoln, RI) who picked up 12 digs in the match. Wentworth's junior outside hitter Tom Ceurvels (Weymouth, MA) dug up seven balls and added five kills on offense. First year setter Tyler Moriarty (Wilbraham, MA) dished out 19 helpers and Lowell Jesmer (Rochester, NY) put down a team-best nine kills.
The Lasers have an eleven day break before competing again on Saturday, January 30th at the SUNY IT Invitational.