Men's Volleyball Falls to Emmanuel

BOSTON, Mass. – The Lasell College men's volleyball team dropped a 3-0 result at Emmanuel College in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) action played in the Jean Yawkey Center on Thursday night. The win boosted the host Saints to 13-9 on the season and 8-3 in league play. The loss dropped Lasell to 16-7 overall and even at 5-5 in the GNAC.

After falling to the Lasers in a three-setter last month, the Saints rolled to the decisive victory on Thursday night with set scores of 25-16, 25-21 and 25-20. 

The Lasers were led by Daniel Raffol's (Natick, Mass.) 11 kills and 4 digs. Sophomore Ryan Jackson (Massillon, Ohio) added 9 kills and hit .316 for the match, while Matthew Dugan (New Lenox, Mass.) notched a team-best 10 digs. Sophomore setter Andrew Glenn (Westport, Conn.) paced the Laser offense with his 27 helpers.

The Saints' junior attack was stellar throughout the match with tri-captains Zach Whitermore (Whitehall, Pa.), Ashanti Jackson (Sacramento, Calif.) and Ryan Kessler (Santa Clarita, Calif.) combining for 27 kills, as the hosts hit a combined .333 as a team for the match. Whitermore led the way with 10 kills, 6 digs and 2 blocks. Kessler tallied 9 kills and 3 digs, while Jackson hit .500 with his 8 kills in 12 swings, to go along with his 4 digs. Junior setter Sean Baxley (Saint James, N.Y.) dished out a match-high 29 assists and tallied 5 digs. Baxley, along with sophomore libero Ernie Gurule (Los Angeles, Calif.) each gathered 9 digs to lead the Saints' backrow. Baxley and Garrett McGarry (Chicago, Ill.) combined for 7 blocks, including McGarry's final solo block on match-point for the Saints.

The Saints will return to action in the Jean Yawkey Center on Saturday afternoon, when Emmanuel plays host to Anna Maria College and Emerson College in a GNAC tri-match, beginning at noon. Lasell also returns to the court on Saturday, when they compete in a conference tri-match at Rivier University with Johnson & Wales University at 1:00 PM.