Feb. 9, 2011

Box Score

BOSTON, Mass.- The Emmanuel Men's Volleyball Team cruised to a 3-0 sweep over visiting Lasell College in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) match played in the Jean Yawkey Center on Wednesday night. The Saints took the three sets, 25-16, 25-19, 25-17, handing the Lasers their first GNAC loss of the season. Emmanuel, ranked 12th nationally, now stands at 10-3 on the season and 4-1 in the league, while Lasell is 6-5 overall and 1-1 conference play.

Set one featured the Saints storming out to a 5-0 lead and a quick timeout by the Lasers. Out of the timeout, a solo block by Thomas McCaffrey (Massapequa, N.Y.) extended the run to 6-0. A service ace by Tyson Rietz (Granite Bay, Calif.) pushed it to 10-0, Saints, and Lasell called its second timeout out of the set.

The Lasers found the scoreboard and began to chip away at the Emmanuel lead, backed by big swings from sophomore outside hitters Spencer Parker (Newington, Conn.) and Harry Strobel (Westport, Conn.) and the score stood at 13-6 midway through the set. With a tip by McCaffrey and a kill by Curtis Abram (San Luis Obispo, Calif.), the Saints led 21-11. Set point came on another McCaffrey kill and Emmanuel took game one, 25-16.

The two clubs played to an even 3-3 to open set two, before a huge swing by Keoni Rabaino (Tucson, Ariz.) gave Emmanuel a lead it would never relinquish. A middle hit by McCaffrey at 11-7 forced a Laser timeout. The two teams traded four points apiece, until consecutive aces by Abram gave the Saints a 16-11 lead. A strong swing from the backrow by Rietz put the Saints on top, 21-15. Kills by Abram and sophomore setter Nick Updike ended set two at 25-19 and Emmanuel held a 2-0 lead in the match.

The third and final set opened with the Saints taking an 8-6 lead, despite the solid play of Parker. Lasell's freshman setter and this week's GNAC Rookie of the Week Andrew Glen (Westport, Conn.) continued to find Parker and Lasell battled back to an 8-all tie. Rietz served off four-straight points for the Saints and Emmanuel surged out to a 12-8 lead.

Jake DeLuise (Wakefield, R.I.) and Tim Ramistella (Westport, Conn.) were solid all night defensively for the Saints. A kill by GNAC Player of the Week Cam Todd (Los Angeles, Calif.) gave the Saints a 20-13 advantage and Lasell called for a desperation timeout. Emmanuel held on and kills by McCaffrey and Abram ended the set at 25-17 and Emmanuel took the 3-0 sweep.

Abram finished with 11 kills to lead the Saints. Rabaino added 7 kills, while McCaffrey accounted for 5 kills in 6 swings. Rietz led Emmanuel defensively with a season-high 13 digs, to go along with his 5 kills and 3 aces. DeLuise picked up 12 digs, while Updike dished out 28 assists in the win.

The Saints will be back on the court this weekend, when they face some tough competition in the Endicott College Invitational Tournament in Beverly, Mass. Emmanuel will open up with Hunter College on Saturday (2/12) at 3pm.