Lasell Men’s Volleyball outlasts Regis for first GNAC victory

WESTON, Mass. – The Lasell College men's volleyball team won the first two sets but needed all five sets to defeat Regis College Tuesday evening, 3-2, in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) match at Higgins Court. 

The Lasers took the first two sets both by scores of 25-20, but saw the Pride bounce back to win the next two sets, 25-20 and 25-23. Lasell never trailed in the fifth set and went on to win 15-8 to clinch the victory, snapping an eight-match losing streak. The Lasers are now 1-1 in GNAC matches (2-11 overall) while Regis is now 1-2 in conference play (4-7 overall). 

Freshmen Conor Leary-Watson (Bethany, Conn.) and Aaron Waitekus (Norwood, Mass.) and sophomore Scott Sterenberg (Oceanside, N.Y.) all had strong performances for the Lasers. Leary-Watson recorded a team-high 16 kills and five services, hitting at a .444 attack percentage, including two kills in the decisive fifth set; Waitekus added 14 kills with a .423 attack percentage; and Sterenberg contributed 13 kills and a .333 attack percentage, also adding two kills in the final set. 

The Lasers also got a 20-dig performance from junior Jordan Aprea (Newington, Conn.) and a season-high 49 assists from junior setter Andy Henriquez (Lawrence, Mass.) 

The teams battled back and forth in the opening set, but a late surge by the Lasers would help them take the lead. With the Pride ahead 17-16, Lasell went on an 8-1 run to take a commanding 24-18 lead. Regis was able to get a couple points back, but it proved far too little too late and the Lasers prevailed to open the match. 

The Lasers went wire-to-wire in set number two to take a commanding lead, and were again propelled by a big run in the set en route to the win. Three consecutive service aces from Leary-Watson highlighted an 10-2 run that ran a 9-8 Lasell lead to 19-10, a deficit from which the Pride simply couldn't recover. 

Regis began to turn it on in the third set to climb back into the contest. The majority of the set was tight, with the Lasers ahead 19-18 on the verge of a sweep, but a pair of Brett Krahl (Santa Clarita, Calif.) kills book-ended a 7-1 run to close out the set and put the Pride on the board. 

As was the theme of the night, a run was the difference in the fourth set after a tight start. Krahl recorded three kills on a 6-0 run as the Pride went ahead 17-11, but Lasell wouldn't go away easily. The Lasers battled all the way back to make the score 24-23, but a kill from Drew Beimel (Redondo Beach, Calif.) capped off the narrow fourth set victory for the Pride.

The fifth and deciding set was all Lasers right from the start, while the Pride struggled on offense. Lasell hit .333 percent in the set versus just .095 for the Pride, and Lasell clinched the match on back to back attack errors by the Pride. 

Krahl and freshman Inelson Alves (Brockton, Mass.) led the way for Regis with 12 kills apiece, while Beimel (11) and Jeff Ramos (Pawtucket, R.I.) (10) also finished in double figures. Jayson Vega (Ponce, Puerto Rico) contributed 42 assists. 

Both teams will play conference road matches on Thursday, March 1, as Lasell visits Rivier University for a 7:00 p.m. meeting and Regis travels for Emerson College for a 6:00 p.m. encounter. 

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