BOSTON, Mass. - Women's volleyball earned a pivotal 3-1 victory over Lasell on Tuesday night at the Jean Yawkey Center, defeating the Lasers by set scores of 25-23, 25-14, 24-26, and 25-8. The Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) win allowed the Saints to leapfrog Lasell in the conference standings, moving into the #1 spot and remaining unbeaten in league play.
Emmanuel (18-4, 10-0 GNAC) came out strong in the opening set, battling through a back-and-forth contest before pulling away late to secure a 25-23 win. The Saints carried that momentum into the second set, delivering a dominant performance to take it 25-14 and move within one set of the match victory.
Lasell (13-13, 10-1 GNAC) responded in the third set, jumping out to a big advantage at 14-6. Emmanuel did not go down without a fight though, clawing back and actually regaining the lead at 22-21 off a Kennedy Horney Ace. Lasell would capitalize on some errors at the end of the set, taking it by a score of 26-24.
The Saints quickly put any hopes of a comeback to rest in the fourth, however, putting together their most commanding set of the night. Emmanuel controlled the action from start to finish, closing out a 25-8 victory on a 9-0 run, completely demoralizing the conference's previous #1 seed.
Leading the Saints offensively was Letitia Bossou, who recorded a match-high 18 kills while hitting .484 and adding five total blocks. Ayla Evans contributed 10 kills, while Brianna Quinlan added seven kills on a .375 hitting percentage. Kason Huynh paced the offense with 21 assists and added 11 digs, while Kennedy Horne finished with 15 assists and four service aces. Sofia Petrucci led Emmanuel defensively with 14 digs.
With the win, Emmanuel improves to 10-0 in GNAC play, moving ahead of Lasell (10-1) in the conference standings and strengthening its position among the league's top teams. The Saints will look to carry their momentum into their next matchup, a non-conference tilt with Framingham State on Thursday night at the JYC.
