Feb. 3, 2009
Box Score
Newton, Mass. - The Saints of Emmanuel College took the Lasers, three sets to one, in Wednesday night's men's volleyball matchup at Lasell College. After close wins by Emmanuel in the opening two sets, 30-28 and 30-26, Lasell took over the third set for a 30-28 win. The Lasers looked to take control of the fourth set early on, but the Saints pushed for a match victory, closing the set 30-24. With the Great Northeast Athletic Conference win, Emmanuel improves to 5-3 on the season and remain undefeated in GNAC play at 4-0. Lasell evens its record at 2-2 overall and 1-1 in the league.
In the first set, Lasell appeared to take charge early, however, the Saints would not let up and kept the game within only a few points. Emmanuel took its first lead of the night at 15-14 off back to back aces by senior Brian Anderson (Akron, Ohio). Lasell's defense, led all evening by Joe Lipski (Burlington, Conn.), Andy Cass (Wakefield, RI), and Brendan McGourn (Southington, Conn.), played scrappy providing the opportunity for the Lasers to tie the game at 25-all. Points went back and forth off service errors before the Saints went up 29-27 for game point. Cass skillfully used Emmanuel's blockers hands to his advantage to pick up a kill off their touch, while also stopping the Saints from finishing the set. A final service error by the Lasers sealed game one for the visitors.
Emmanuel controlled the second frame from the onset, going up 20-11 before the Lasers chipped their way back in. Trevor Foster (Ashford, Conn.) went a perfect 5 for 5 at the net, and picked up one solo block for the Lasers, but was Emmanuel's sophomore outside hitter, Curtis Abram (San Luis Obispo, CA), who hit a .556 clip in the set, and put down 6 kills for the Saints. This finished the game and put the Saints up 2-0.
The Saints came out strong in frame three looking to put the match away, but the Lasers would not go away. After coming back from an early five point deficit, the Lasers tied the game at 8-all on a block by Dave Rogers (Belchertown, Mass.) and Dan Rogers (Belchertown, Mass.). The Lasers then went on a run to go up 15-10, before the Saints clawed back to gain a slight advantage at 21-20. A service ace by Cass put the Lasers ahead for good and the hosts closed out the set with McGourn setting up a back row attack by Dustin Foster (Ashford, Conn.) for a game-point kill.
In the final round of the evening, the Saints took control quickly. Emmanuel finished the game with a five point streak that ended with back to back kills by Abram. Sophomore middle and GNAC Player of the Week Keoni Rabaino (Tucson, AZ) hit 100% with four kills in four swings, while junior Michael Townsend (Beaverdam, VA) and rookie Alexander Petty (Wayland, Mass.) picked up five and four kills, respectively, to lead for the Saints in the set.
Townsend had a standout night with 17 kills, 7 digs, and 2 aces, and Abrams pitched in with a double-double, featuring 14 kills and 12 digs, to go along with his 3 aces. Emmanuel's sophomore setter Sean O'Connor (Hampstead, NH) collected 49 assists through the four sets. Sophomore captain Jacob DeLuise (Wakefield, R.I.) gathered 11 digs in the win for Emmanuel.
Lasell was lead by Matt Roberts (Agawam, Mass.), who put down 12 kills and picked up 8 digs over the course of the match. Cass was a close second with 11 kills and 8 digs, and McGourn was strong all-around with 39 assists, 6 kills, 9 digs, and 2 service aces.
The Lasers are back in action on Thursday (2/5) at the University of New Haven, with a 7:00 start. The Saints will travel to Nashua, N.H. on Friday night (2/6) to take on the powerful Raiders of Rivier College in a 7:00 match.
