MEN'S VOLLEYBALL: Wentworth Earns Chance to Defend Title With Semifinal Victory, Hosts Lasell on Saturday

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Courtesy of the Wentworth Communications.

BOSTON, Mass. – Backed by a game-high 21 kills from junior Jacob LaBouliere (Pipersville, Pa.), the Wentworth Institute of Technology men's volleyball team (25-7) rallied past the Emerson Lions (13-15) by a 3-1 score in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference Tournament Semifinals, pushing the Black & Gold to their second-straight GNAC Championship appearance.

The Leopards are seeking their second-straight GNAC Championship and fourth overall. In addition to winning last year, Wentworth captured the crown in 2016 and 2017. Saturday marks the Leopards' sixth-straight GNAC Championship appearance.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• The two teams stayed neck-and-neck to start the first set as a kill by senior Hunter Oshman (Pennington, N.J.) tied the score at 4-4. The Lions pushed to a 9-6 advantage until a kill by LaBouliere dwindled the deficit to two at 9-7. Emerson continued to carry their lead to a 19-13 score just before a kill by sophomore Sam Etter (Massillon, Ohio) cut the lead to 19-14. A LaBouliere kill and service ace by junior Tyler Jack (San Jose, Calif.) later cut the deficit to 20-18. The Leopards' claw back wasn't enough to get past the Lions as the visitors grabbed a 25-22 set win and a 1-0 match lead after holding the lead since a 7-6 advantage.
• A kill by freshman Nicolai Bell (Moraga, Calif.) helped the Leopards keep things close to start the second set, marking a 2-2 score. An Etter kill gave the Leopards a 4-3 lead before three-straight LaBouliere kills and an Oshman kill gave the hosts a 10-6 lead. Another Oshman kill continued the lead to 14-8 before a LaBouliere kill marked a 19-13 advantage later on. Consecutive kills by Etter (2), Bell, and junior Jacob Waga (East Northport, N.Y.) guided the Leopards to a 25-17 set win, tying the match at one apiece.
• Two kills from LaBouliere paired with Waga and Etter kills gave the Leopards a 4-2 lead to start the third set. Back-to-back kills from Waga and LaBouliere continued the lead to 8-6 before a Bell kill later marked a 12-9 score. A kill by senior Tristan McDonough (Shelton, Conn.) helped leap the Leopards to a 18-11 advantage before a kill by Etter marked a 20-13 advantage. Two Waga kills guided Wentworth to a 25-15 set win and a 2-1 match lead.
• Two services aces and a kill by Waga gave the hosts a commanding 5-0 advantage to start the fourth set before another kill by Waga later marked a 7-2 score. Two kills from Bell paired with kills from LaBouliere and Etter gave the Leopards a 14-6 lead. Kills by Waga and Bell helped continue the lead to 18-9 before the Leopards cruised to a 25-12 set win and a 3-1 match win thanks to a slew of errors for the Lions.
• Sophomore Josh Milke (Eastampton, N.J.) dished out a career-high 48 assists in the win.

SERIES NOTES:

• Wentworth owns a 25-2 all-time advantage over the Lions, with their last loss dating back to 2013.

 NEXT UP:

• The Leopards host Lasell in the GNAC Championship Saturday at 2:00 p.m., as it's the second-straight time and third overall the team will be facing off against the Lasers in the conference finale.

Courtesy of Lasell Communications.

NEWTON, MA - The Lasell Lasers Men's Volleyball team defeated the Rivier Raiders in a GNAC semifinal match on Thursday night by a final score of 25-22, 25-15, 24-26, 25-16. The win advances the Lasers to the conference championship match. The Lasers are now 20-12 on the season, while the Raiders end their season at 20-11.

In a matchup between two teams with NCAA Tournament aspirations, the Raiders got out to the early lead at 14-11. But a 3-0 run by the Lasers tied things up. The Raiders grabbed the lead again at 21-20, but another timely 3-0 run put the Lasers up 23-21. A kill by Theo Zaharewicz and a Raiders error would give the Lasers the first set by a final score of 25-22.

Set two was another close set to start, and was tied up at seven. The Lasers then used four different 2-1 mini runs to grab a 19-14 lead. They went on a big 5-0 run to take control and finished the set off with a Brenden Joyce kill, taking it 25-15.

Set three proved to be the closest, as neither team ever led by more than two. A 3-0 run by the Lasers gave them an 18-17 lead late, but the Raiders would end up taking set three 26-24.

Set four was another close set at the beginning, but a couple of 4-0 runs were the difference, as the Lasers took set four 25-16, punching their ticket to the GNAC Championship game on Saturday.

It was a two headed attack for the Lasers, as Jordan Shinaut (18) and Brenden Joyce (16) combined for 34 of the team's 46 kills. Of those 46 kills, Jesus Garcia set the table on 40 of them. Garcia also led the team with 11 digs, while Alex Weinhaus and Shinaut were behind him with nine each. Joyce also had eight digs.

Up Next - The Lasers will go to Wentworth to take on the Leopards on Saturday, April 15th at 2pm for the GNAC Championship. The two teams split their two meetings in the regular season, with the road team taking each match.