Men's Volleyball Drops Pair of GNAC Matches to Lasell, Rivier

MATCH 1: Lasell 3 - Emmanuel 0

Set one firmly belonged to the Lasers as they started on a five-point run getting a kill by Merritt. After a kill by freshman Jyles Amirault (Andover, Mass.) the Lasers added another eight points getting a kill by Merritt along with a kill from Joyce and two kills from Zaharewicz to jump out to a 12-point lead. The Saints got the lead back down to single digits as they rattled off three straight points getting two points from junior Joshua McDonald (Smithtown, N.Y.). Lasell answered with three straight of their own starting on a kill by graduate student Dillon DeSouza. The Lasers took set one, 25-12, getting the final point on an ace by DeSouza.

The Saints jumped out to an early lead in set two scoring three of the first four getting two points from Amirault and one point on a kill from freshman Leonard Kim (Los Angeles, Calif.). Lasell grabbed the lead going on a four-point run getting two kills from Merritt and one kill from Zaharewicz. Kills from Merritt, Zaharewicz and freshman Lee Naea helped build a four-point lead for Lasell. The lead was quickly erased by the Saint as they scored four unanswered getting two kills from Amirault. The teams traded points from there going from tied at nine to tied at 17 following an attack error by Lasell. The Lasers turned it up from there scoring four straight with two kills from Baranowski and one kill from Joyce. Lasell then scored five of the last six to take set two 25-19.

Lasell pulled out ahead in set three taking the first four points of the set getting an ace from Garcia and a kill from Zaharewicz. The Lasers pulled out a five-point advantage on an attack error by the Saints. From that point, the Saints took control of the set scoring eight straight to take the lead getting two kills from junior Daniel Keyes (Fall River, Mass.) and a kill from freshman Thor Yingling (Truro, Mass.). The Saints continued to push ahead, pulling out a four-point advantage following an attack error from Lasell and only needing seven points to take the set. The Lasers battled back, slowly trimming the lead down and eventually tying the game up at 22 on a kill by Zaharewicz. An attack error by the Saints gave the Lasers the lead and they did not look back as a kill by Naea closed the set and match in favor of Lasell.

Amirault led the Saints with 10 kills, and he also had eight digs. Yingling and Keyes both added five kills apiece.

Zaharewicz led the Lasers with 10 kills and Merritt added six kills of his own. Weinhaus led the game with 13 digs and Joyce added eight digs as well. Naea led the game in solo blocks with three.

MATCH 2: Rivier 3 - Emmanuel 0

HOW IT HAPPENED:

-  After a close first set, the Raiders took off in the following two sets. Both teams ended the first with 11 kills, each with the difference coming in errors on the Saint side.

-  Rivier Picked up the offense and tallied 15 kills in both the second and third sets. The second was their best, with the 15 kills and just one error for an impressive .609 hitting percentage. Emmanuel could only muster seven kills in the second and nine in the third.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

-  Smith had a match-high 14 kills and 10 digs.

-  Sokunbuth Ly (Lowell, MA) had 11 kills of his own along with six digs.

-  Campos finished with another 34 assists with two kills and eight digs.

*Release courtesy Lasell and Rivier Athletic Communications