Lasers Take Four Set Heartbreaker Over Saints, 3-1

THE BASICS 

Score: Emmanuel College, 1; Lasell University, 3 (26-28, 21-25, 25-23, 24-26)

Records: Emmanuel College Saints (5-12, 1-4 GNAC); Lasell University Lasers (6-13, 3-2 GNAC)

Location: Boston, Mass. – Andy Yosinoff Court

Date: Thursday, October 9, 2019

THE LEAD: Sophomore outside hitter Kiana Perez Diaz (Juncos, P.R.) led the Lasell University women's volleyball team to a 3-1 victory over the Emmanuel College Saints (26-28, 21-25, 25-23, 24-26), to gain a Great Northeast Athletic Conference win on Thursday evening on the Andrew Yosinoff Court.

HOW IT HAPPENED 

• The Lasers started the first match with a strong offensive attach by Diaz and teammate Meg Roberts (Newington, Conn.), but the Saints battled throughout the match tying the game at 13 and 20 apiece before taking a 26-25 point lead. Despite the late set lead, EC was not able to hold on as a late assisted block by Corina Lombardi (York, Maine) and Amanda DiLeonardo (West Haven, Conn.) and a match point kill by Diaz closed the first for the Lasers, 28-26.
• The second set began with strong momentum for Lasell, going on a quick 12-8 run before the Saints closed the lead to tie and take over the set, 16-14. Lasell continued to battle from behind and regained the lead as DiLeonardo recorded three kills, sparking the Lasers to close out the set 25-21.
• Both sides continued to battle in the third set with EC's Marissa Cataldo (Tewksbury, Mass.) and Anna Caristi (North Attleboro, Mass.) creating much of the offense to take the only victory of the evening, 25-23.
• The fourth set continued the relentless fight from both sides with seven lead changes throughout, but Diaz and Juliana Denning (Lathrop, Calif.) of Lasell were too much on the attack, closing out the final set 26-24.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS 

• Diaz recorded 16 kills on the evening victory for the Lasers, the most for either team, along with 11 digs and two service aces.
• EC's freshman setter Rachel Coleman (Peabody, Mass.) recorded 18 assists on the night, while Jess Langan (Burnt Hills, N.Y.) recorded 39 for the Lasers.
• DiLeonardo led the defensive back row of the Lasers with 22 digs, while Saint's libero Tatiana Correia (Peabody, Mass.) collected 19 digs.

UP NEXT

• The Saints have a much needed day off on Friday before hosting a GNAC tri-match on Saturday, October 12^th beginning at 11AM against University of Saint Joseph (CT) and Saint Joseph's College of Maine.
• Lasell will be hosting a tri-match on Saturday, October 12^th against GNAC opponent Colby-Sawyer and Manhattanville College.