Saints, Lasers, Raiders Split Tri-Match Saturday in Tightening GNAC Playoff Race

BOSTON – A first match win for Lasell, a second match win for Rivier, and a third match win for Emmanuel concluded a tri-match Saturday with the Lasers, Raiders, and Saints, all finishing 1-1 against each other, tightening the already close playoff battle among these three teams, following a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) tri-match on Saturday at the Jean Yawkey Center.

MATCH 1: LASELL 3 – EMMANUEL 2 (21-25, 22-25, 25-13, 25-21, 15-12)

The opening GNAC match of the morning featured a five-set classic and a comeback win for Lasell on Saturday in the Jean Yawkey Center. After dropping the first two sets, the Lasers took the final three, leading to a five-set victory for Lasell.

The fifth came down to the final points, as the Saints and Lasers split the points through the majority of the set, leading to a 10-10 tie. From that point, three kills by three different Lasers, combined with an attack error by the Saints started a 4-0 run that gave Lasell a 14-10 advantage. Emmanuel defended two match points before Lasell junior Theo Zaharewicz (Bethany, Conn.) provided the match-winning kill in a 15-12 set and 3-2 sets win.

Lasell hit .292 in the final set, using 11 total kills on 24 attempts, with four errors, to complete the comeback. Emmanuel only managed six team kills in the final set on 23 attempts.

The Saints built their two-set lead on strong play from the floor, including a first set of 19 kills on 33 attepmts, with five errors, hitting a team-high .424 in the set. In the second, the Saints had 15 kills on 38 attempts, to go with five errors, leading to a .263 attack percentage.

The Lasell comeback started with a red hot third set, as the Lasers didn't commit an attack error in the decisive 25-13 victory. Lasell combined 11 kills with 16 attempts, to hit a blazing .688 in the third. They backed up that performance with a dozen kills on 28 attempts and a pair of errors, forcing a fifth set after hitting .357 in the fourth.

Zaharewicz and graduate Brenden Joyce (Randolph, Mass.) each had 17 kills in the victory. Joyce hit .412 on the morning with Zaharewicz close behind at a .342 attack percentage. Graduate setter Jesus Garcia (Honolulu, Hawaii) had a double-double of 40 assists and 10 digs.

Saints sophomore Michael Shelley (San Francisco, Calif.) finished with a career-high 33 kills, becoming just the third player and fourth instance in program history for a player to have at least 30 kills in a match. Sophomore Dominic DeFerrari (Miami, Fla.) reached the 50-assist plateau for the first time in his career, chipping in a career-best 53 assists.

MATCH 2: EMMANUEL 3 – RIVIER 0 (25-20, 25-20, 25-18)

In match two, the Saints needed only three sets to defeat the Rivier Raiders, as the tri-match Saturday finished with Emmanuel, RIvier, and Lasell, all going 1-1 on the day in a tightening GNAC playoff race between these three sides.

In the opening set, the Saints led by as many as nine thanks to a pair of three-point runs that led to a 22-13 advatage. But the Raiders wouldn't give up, scoring five-straight points, cutting the deficit to 22-18. The Saints steadied themselves and a set-clinching kill by junior Maximillian Olsen (Barnstable, Mass.) gave Emmanuel a 25-20 set win.

In the second set, the Saints and Raiders played a close set with neither side leading by more than four points until the end of the set. Rivier held a 20-19 set lead before Emmanuel closed the door shut with the final six points of the set, claiming the second 25-20. Sophomore Trey Guest (Newington, Conn.) had the only kill in the 6-0 run as Rivier committed five errors to drop the second frame.

In the third and final set, a 4-0 spurt in the early going provided an 11-7 lead for Emmanuel and the breathing romm they needed throughout the remainder of the set to claim a straight sets win. Emmanuel never trailed from that point on, a finished the afternoon with a flourish of four straight points, clinching the match on a Rivier attack error by winning the third 25-18.

Shelley again led the Saints, this time finishing with 15 kills and a .429 hitting percentage. He added five digs and three block assists in the win. Guest had 11 kills while hitting .450 while Olsen was a perfect 3-for-3 on attacks to go along with one service ace.

Graduate student Sokunbuth Ly (Lowell, Mass.) and senior Ryan Peace (Goffstown, N.H.) finished with a  team-high six kills. Sophomore Matthew McCloskey (Salem, N.H.) added another four in the loss.

The Saints and Lasers return to play on March 26 with Emmanuel hosting Dean and Lasell hosting No. 1 Wentworth, both at 7:00 p.m. Rivier returns to play on March 27, hosting Endicott in non-conference play, at 7:00 p.m.